SPRINGDALE - Vice President Dick Cheney offered an endorsement for Republican Asa Hutchinson's candidacy for governor and pledged that America won't stop fighting terrorism.
Cheney was the main speaker Monday at a Hutchinson campaign event at the Holiday Inn and Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale.
Hutchinson is a former U. S. representative from northwest Arkansas. He was an undersecretary for the federal Homeland Security Department and served as head of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
Hutchinson is a man of varied experience in life and of good judgment, one to whom the president quickly turned after terror attacks against America on Sept. 11, 2001, Cheney said.
Hutchinson helped set up and then lead the federal Department of Homeland Security, the vice president said.
As a candidate for governor, Hutchinson has proposed tax cuts for Arkansans. Tax cuts backed by President George W. Bush - like earlier tax cuts backed by Presidents Reagan and Kennedy - sparked economic growth for the nation. And Hutchinson's tax cuts will do the same for the state, Cheney said.
"The people of Arkansas need a governor who understands that jobs are created not by the government but by entrepreneurs in free enterprise," Cheney said.
Arkansans continue to make significant contributions to the national war on terror, and they deserve the thanks of the nation, Cheney said.
Some critics have called for the creation of a timeline for American withdrawal from Iraq, but such a timeline could only encourage American enemies, who would try to out-wait it, the vice president said.
And, in any case, decisions about troop levels will be made by the president, Cheney said.
"Troop levels should be set according to conditions on the ground, not by an artificial timeline," the vice president said.
Other critics, notably U. S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., have called for a "redeployment"of our forces in Iraq, but like the proposed timeline, such an action would only encourage terrorists and other enemies of America, Cheney said.
"He (Murtha ) wants to redeploy our forces to Okinawa. That's a long way (from the Middle East )," the vice president said.
Cheney's appearance on Hutchinson's behalf is helpful to his campaign, Hutchinson said.
"He (Cheney ) is a friend who can energize voters," the candidate said.
Still, after Cheney's speech, Hutchinson himself addressed the friendly crowd inside the Convention Center.
He and his wife are working hard in the ongoing campaign, talking about tax cuts, economic growth and other issues, but they are counting on hard work from political supporters, too, he said.
"We have to ask you to go out and spread the message," he said.
Hutchinson's opponents in the Nov. 7 election are Democrat state Attorney General Mike Beebe; Green Party candidate Jim Lendall; and independent candidate Rod Bryan.
Both supporters and opponents of the Bush administration were on hand outside the Convention Center.
Opponents included members of "The World Can't Wait," a political action group dedicated to bringing about the repudiation of the Bush administration's policies, among other goals.
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