While President George W. Bush continues to enjoy extremely high popular support, the U.S. midterm elections later this year will be hard-fought and could swing the narrow balance of power in Congress, according to a group of U.S. lawmakers who gathered at a March 26 symposium in Tokyo.
The war on terrorism has earned the president strong popularity, but as always, U.S. voters will focus on domestic and local matters when they cast their ballots in November, such as the state of the economy and health care, the congressional members said.
The symposium, organized jointly by the Japan Center for International Exchange and the Keizai Koho Center, brought together six members of Congress from the Democratic and Republican parties: Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland), Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee chairman; Rick Boucher (D-Virginia), member of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee; Bob Etheridge (D-North Carolina), member of the House Agriculture and Science committees; Cliff Stearns (R-Florida) and Greg Walden (R-Oregon), both of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; and Lynn Woosley (D-California), who serves on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. The discussion was held in an open forum on condition that participants not be quoted by name.