White House Treads Gingerly on the Campaign Trail

With President Bush in virtual hiding through Election Day, it was up to Vice President Cheney and first lady Laura Bush to pick up the slack on the campaign trail.

On Thursday, Laura Bush stumped in Mississippi for a Republican senatorial candidate -- without once mentioning John McCain or Sarah Palin.

Bush went to Gulfport on behalf of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who is locked in a tough election fight with former Democratic governor Ronnie Musgrove. The room was full of colorful Wicker signs, but only a few McCain-Palin placards were visible, according to news reports.

The first lady is slated to make another campaign appearance today in Kentucky on behalf of congressional candidate Brett Guthrie and other GOP office-seekers.

Cheney, meanwhile, hosted a rally on Saturday in his home state of Wyoming in which he heartily endorsed McCain and Palin. The political wisdom of the event was not immediately clear: Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who wants to tie McCain to the unpopular current administration, immediately mocked the endorsement.

President Bush, by contrast, has remained largely silent, which is just fine with the McCain campaign. Bush has cleared his public schedule through Election Day, and officials say he will spend Tuesday night at the White House.

Bush did bring up the election during his weekly radio address on Saturday, but in a nonpartisan way. "After months of spirited debate and vigorous campaigning, the time has come for Americans to make important decisions about our nation's future," Bush said. "I encourage all Americans to go to the polls and vote."

Sunset at Quantico

The long goodbye has begun.

With less than three months left in the Bush administration, the president's schedule in recent weeks has been full of fond farewells -- from last visits with foreign leaders to get-togethers with those who have worked for him over the past eight years.

Thursday was a good example. Bush went to Quantico, Va., to attend his last graduation ceremony at the FBI Academy, then stopped off to bid adieu to the military squadron responsible for maintaining and operating presidential helicopters.

Marine Helicopter Squadron One has carried presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower, and about 500 members attended Bush's farewell at the squadron's hangar in Quantico. The event was closed to reporters, but the White House said Bush thanked the group for its service and talked about the war on terrorism. The squadron gave him two parting gifts: a piece of a tail rotor and a window.

In his address to new agents at the FBI, Bush boasted about his administration's counterterrorism policies since Sept. 11, 2001. "More than seven years have passed without another attack on our soil, and this is not an accident," Bush said. "Since 9/11, we have gone on the offense against the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home."