For Bush, Some Good News Amid the Bad

Drawing Power

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson met with President Bush about the bailout -- or financial rescue -- package on Friday. Bush won a hard-fought victory with the plan's passage. (By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo

Bush's trip back to his home town of Midland, Tex., on Saturday -- his first since taking office -- was part of a series of fundraisers this weekend demonstrating that the president is still a big draw among Republicans.

A stop in St. Louis on Friday raised about $1.5 million for the Missouri gubernatorial campaign of Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R), who is having a rough time in his bid for the statehouse against Democrat Jay Nixon (and who defied Bush by voting twice against the bailout plan).

Saturday's fundraiser in Midland was thrown on behalf of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. It was held at the home of another GOP member of Congress, Mike Conaway.

Finally, on Monday, Bush is scheduled to stop in San Antonio on his way back to Washington for another RNC-NRCC fundraiser. Bush is expected to raise about $1 million between the two Texas events, bringing his weekend total to about $2.5 million.

What's in a Name?

Republicans and Democrats alike complained last week that one of the reasons the Bush administration's financial rescue proposal ran into trouble was that it was wrongly being sold as a "bailout" of Wall Street.

"Let's not call it a bailout," said GOP presidential nominee John McCain. "Let's call it a rescue."

The implication from McCain, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) and others seemed to be that the administration had erred in this respect. But Bush and his aides were careful throughout the debate to never use the word "bailout," even as the press and many supporters did.

Instead, administration officials referred to the plan allowing the government to buy distressed mortgage assets as a "rescue package" or, using the title of the legislation, as "an emergency economic stabilization" plan.

But Seriously . . .

As Bush stayed in Washington last week to pull together votes on the Wall Street bill, it fell to Vice President Cheney to take the president's place at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy in Reno, Nev. Bush sent along a video message, telling the audience: "In my place, I have sent my favorite hunter."

Cheney, of course, has yet to live down the incident in February 2006 in which he accidentally shot his good friend Harry Whittington in the face with a spray of shotgun pellets during a quail hunt at a Texas ranch.

Taking the podium in Reno, Cheney acknowledged he has "taken a lot of grief" for the accident -- especially from the president.

"I will never forget walking into the Oval Office after that happened," Cheney told the crowd. "And fortunately, my friend recovered and is in good health. But I walked into the Oval Office that day and the president looked at me, and he said, 'Dick, here I am 30 percent in the polls, and you shot the only trial lawyer in Texas who supports me.' "

Cheney went on to praise the administration's conservation policies, telling the audience that "we've upheld the duties of stewardship, and we've left a good example for others to follow in the years to come."

Quote of the Week

"I think we all know the moment things began to turn around in Iraq: It was when the USO decided to deploy Jessica Simpson."

-- President Bush, speaking Wednesday at the United Service Organization World Gala in Washington.