WASHINGTON — The maneuvering that made the politics of rising gasoline prices a hot story Tuesday began over doughnuts and coffee Saturday morning at Sen. John Kerry's campaign headquarters.
Officials of Kerry's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee mapped out a plan to pin blame on President Bush for the soaring prices. The average price of regular topped $2 a gallon Monday.
The strategy included a news conference with DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe; a conference call for reporters with the Democratic governors of Arizona, Iowa and Michigan; and remarks by Kerry in Portland, Ore. Democrats in Congress criticized Bush on the floors of the House and Senate.
Kerry said Bush should stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a federal emergency cache, to shift more oil into the market to lower prices. Other Democrats said he should draw oil from the reserve.
At White House spokesman Scott McClellan's daily news briefing, more than half the questions were about gas prices. The average price of regular gas passed $2 a gallon Monday. "What is the White House doing to prevent this energy crisis?" a reporter asked. McClellan said Bush is pressing oil producers to increase production and won't tap into or stop filling the reserve.
Democrats considered McClellan's grilling and news broadcasts that contained Kerry's critique a sign of success. "If the White House is responding, it's a job well done," said Jano Cabrera, a DNC spokesman.
Bush's campaign anticipated the offensive and began preparing its response Monday. The Republican National Committee sent reporters an e-mail reminding them Kerry voted for higher gas taxes four years ago. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., had a conference call with reporters. Republicans in Congress defended Bush. In Arizona, Iowa and Michigan, Republican officials went on talk radio.
"Everywhere the Democrats went on offense, they were engaged, rebutted and put on defense," said Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the Bush campaign.
The daylong sparring will be repeated many times between now and Election Day. The goal of both sides is to influence news coverage and, ultimately, voters' opinions.
Last month, Republicans launched a similar all-out drive to highlight Kerry's votes against weapons systems. TV ads in nine states, speeches by Vice President Cheney and Republican officials featured locally produced weapons systems that Kerry had voted against funding. The result was news stories describing Kerry as being on the defensive.
Martin Kaplan of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication said Tuesday was a case study of the way campaigns try to make the news work to their advantage. "What the media climate is waiting for is timing and an articulate onslaught" from a candidate, he said.
Robert Lichter of the Center for Media and Public Affairs said the volleys are a healthy part of politics. "This is a dialogue that exposes genuine differences."