Bush, Cheney Blitz West In Final Campaign Drive

President Bush and Vice President Cheney blitzed through Western states yesterday, revving up conservative voters with threats of tax increases and legalized gay marriage if Democrats win big on Tuesday.

Bush delivered his weekly radio address live from a Colorado coffee shop, touting the tax cuts that a Republican-led Congress approved during his first term. A favorite line is to quote House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declaring that Democrats also love tax cuts. "Given her record," Bush says at every stop now, "she must be a secret admirer."

Around the country, candidates staged rallies and made phone calls, seeking to energize voters.

Democrats look to be all but assured of winning control of the House, and they may take the Senate, too. One reason the Democrats are in contention: a spate of scandals that have besieged Republicans and their allies throughout the year.

Bush awoke at his Denver-area hotel yesterday to find the front page of the Rocky Mountain News devoted to the downfall of one of his staunch supporters, a prominent Christian evangelical leader.

With the first 14 pages of the newspaper focused on the allegations against the Rev. Ted Haggard, Cheney's visit was buried at the bottom of Page 27A, and Bush, who is usually greeted by front-page coverage in local newspapers when he visits, did not make the A section at all.

Republican strategists worry that the allegations may further discourage already disaffected religious conservatives from voting. Three congressional seats are considered in play in Colorado.

Bush traveled to Greeley, Colo., to promote Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who sponsored a proposed federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. "She has worked to prevent the institution of marriage from being redefined by activist judges," Bush said.

Colorado has two competing ballot issues concerning the rights of same-sex couples.

Vice President Cheney headlined a rally in Laramie, Wyo., where he called on 800 GOP faithful in a high school gymnasium. Cheney's visit to his home state came on the final leg of a several-day swing through the Rockies, a heavily Republican region where several GOP House and Senate candidates are embroiled in tough election battles this year.

Cheney reminded the crowd that Republican candidates support a tough national defense and low taxes. "If the Democrats take control, American families would face an immense tax increase, and the economy would sustain a major hit," Cheney warned.

Republican candidates around the country are sounding that warning on the stump. Many Democrats opposed the Bush cuts that have reduced taxes for both businesses and individuals in recent years, and they have advocated allowing some of the reductions to expire.

But the issue may not have as much resonance as it has in the past. When a Washington Post-ABC News poll asked voters in October to name their top issue for the 2006 election, zero percent identified taxes. An Associated Press-Ipsos survey in October found that 49 percent of respondents said they trusted Democrats more on taxes, compared to 37 percent who said Republicans.

Baker reported from Greeley, Colo. Staff writer Michael A. Fletcher contributed to this report from Laramie, Wyo.