* He has his eye on history. [Bush] puts his tax-cutting prowess on a scale with two of the most famous presidents of the 20th century. "Across-the-board tax relief does not happen often in Washington, D.C. In fact, since World War II, it has happened only twice: President Kennedy's tax cut in the '60s and President Reagan's tax cuts in the 1980s," Bush said at the signing ceremony for his 2001 tax cuts. "Now it's happening for the third time, and it's about time."

Some scary economic numbers also motivate Bush. Since February 2001, 2.1 million jobs have vanished. He says a $550 billion tax cut would create 1 million jobs by the end of next year. Bush's advisers hope that achieving that goal would defuse the charge by Democratic presidential candidates that Bush's policies created an unemployment crisis.

Some Democrats say Bush's commitment to cutting taxes could backfire. "The Bush people feel that virtually any tax cut will spur enough growth in the future to essentially pay for itself," says Gene Sperling, who was an economic adviser to President [Bill Clinto]. "Others of us, including many moderate Republicans, believe that rising deficits will ultimately hurt long-term confidence in the U.S. economy."