The GOP Leans on A Proven Strategy

Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, is interviewed by radio talk show host Sean Hannity, right. Hannity and 39 other mostly conservative radio hosts were invited to join top officials and broadcast from a large tent on the White House grounds. Story, A7. (By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)

To maximize the blitz, the White House set up a tent on the North Lawn yesterday and let 42 radio hosts broadcast live during the day. Because it was on government property, "Radio Day" included outlets such as National Public Radio, but "it's mostly conservative talk," White House press secretary Tony Snow said. "This is a chance to talk to people and get heard," said Snow, a former talk show host who did more than 20 interviews yesterday and has also been dispatched to talk to conservative Web sites such as the Power Line blog.

Rove wandered into the tent with a piece of paper guiding him to a dozen interviews yesterday. Others on hand included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, presidential counselor Dan Bartlett, White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend, and budget director Rob Portman.

Iraq was a subject of discussion as officials tried to explain Bush's evolving rhetoric. Snow minimized the decision to no longer describe Bush's policy as "stay the course," telling Fox that he found only eight times when Bush used the phrase. The liberal Center for American Progress then quickly posted a list of 30 instances when Bush argued to "stay the course." And Rumsfeld told Hannity that it is "nonsense" to say Bush is "backing away from 'stay the course,' " saying he only wants to avoid confusion.

The White House has reached out in other ways, too. Rove hosted a conference call Monday with key conservative leaders, reminding them of the stakes of the elections. And the White House has staged events to highlight Bush's conservative positions. In Scottsdale, Ariz., Bush signed a spending bill that pays for more border patrol agents and the beginning of a new fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, a nod to conservatives who consider him soft on illegal immigration.

At times, though, the White House does not highlight actions that would help it with the right, leaving it to activists to do it themselves. In the same bill, unmentioned by Bush, is a provision banning authorities from confiscating lawfully owned guns during emergencies, a response to reports of firearms taken away in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

"I certainly didn't get a call about a signing ceremony," said National Rifle Association lobbyist Chris Cox. "But quite frankly, it was irrelevant as long as the bill was signed into law." The NRA notified its 4 million members and reminded them, as the group's Web site put it, that it "makes it clear why gun owners can never, ever sit on the sidelines during an election."

Paul M. Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation, said the White House is not doing enough to repair relations with the base. "I'm not seeing anything," he said. "Maybe they're doing certain things with people who are closer to them. But in my case, I've not gotten any special treatment or invitations or whatever."

Still, Weyrich said the White House may yet benefit from conservatives coming home. "It'll all come down to conservatives," he said. "For a long time, I've heard nothing but 'I'm not going to vote for these jerks.' Now I'm hearing 'Well, I suppose we'll have to vote the jerks back in and see what we can do.' "

Polling director Jon Cohen contributed to this report.