White House watch: Bush gingerly attends 2 = events

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National

Oct. 21, 2006, = 11:44PM
WHITE HOUSE WATCH
Bush gingerly attends 2 = events
President aids fundraisers for candidates mired = in=20 controversy

By JULIE = MASON
Copyright=20 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON =97 President Bush last week helped raise money in = two of the=20 year's most controversial re-election campaigns, stumping for = Republican=20 Rep. Don Sherwood in Pennsylvania and Sen. George Allen in = Virginia.

If the White House felt any misgivings about either incumbent,=20 spokesman Tony Snow wasn't saying.

"When a president goes and campaigns for candidates he's there = to help=20 them, and, no, I don't think there's a down side," Snow said. "I'm = not=20 going to go any further."

Allen, among other things, called an Indian-American staffer of = his=20 opponent "Macaca," a word he later said was made up but apologized = for=20 using. Others interpreted it as an ethnic slur.

Sherwood, who once held one of the safest seats in the country, = is=20 battling to stay in Congress after his former mistress alleged he = choked=20 her at his Washington apartment.

Bush touched on the issue briefly at a Keystone College event = with=20 Sherwood, noting the congressman's wife wrote a letter to = constituents=20 saying she forgave him. "I was deeply moved by her words," Bush = said. The=20 president also dropped a line from his standard campaign speech in = which=20 he notes that he and the candidate of the day both "married above=20 ourselves."

Instead, he subbed another line, saying, "I am not Sherwood's = first=20 choice to be here at the fundraiser. Both he and Carol wanted = Laura to=20 come."

Not coincidentally, the White House scheduled both events on = the same=20 day. That way, they were able to condense two potentially unsavory = stories=20 into just one day's news cycle.

Later this month, Bush is expected to head to Texas for more=20 fundraisers aimed at helping the Republican Party maintain = majorities in=20 the House and Senate.

So far this year, he's done 68 fundraisers, bringing in more = than $122=20 million, according to Mark Knoller, White House correspondent for = CBS News=20 radio and a tabulator of Bush travel statistics. By comparison, = Bush in=20 2002 did 66 fundraisers totaling more than $144 million.

Gifts to Bush include $1,120 paperweight

The president gets a lot of gifts. Every year, the State = Department=20 records and reports presents received by the president and first = lady from=20 foreign dignitaries.

Sometimes the gifts say something about the giver, although = presumably=20 the task of selecting and buying them is delegated far below the=20 principal.

Even so, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Bush a $20 = framed=20 photograph of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.

Putin also gave Bush a silver horseshoe with inlaid stones = valued at=20 $250 and a photo album worth about $235 commemorating a trip Bush = took to=20 Moscow last year.

King Abdullah II of Jordan gave the president a jaunty, = custom-designed=20 Desert Ranger motorcycle worth about $4,500 and a $500 Bible.

Bush also got silk ties from former Italian Prime Minister = Silvio=20 Berlusconi and a wooden bowl from former Canadian Prime Minister = Paul=20 Martin.

But for sheer flair and elan, few world leaders could top = French=20 President Jacques Chirac, who gave Bush a stylish Hermes gold and=20 navy-striped blanket worth $940 and a Lalique paperweight worth=20 $1,120.

Most of the gifts go into storage for display at the future = Bush=20 presidential library.

Bush avoids books about his presidency

With less than three weeks to go before the congressional = elections=20 Nov. 7, Bush has been making the rounds of network and cable = interviews,=20 talking up his tax cuts and antiterrorism message.

Sitting down last week with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, = Bush=20 said he hasn't been reading any of the books about his = presidency.

"I don't feel comfortable reading about myself," he said.

Short take

"Don't tell Laura," Bush told reporters in = Virginia,=20 where he stopped at The Pumpkin Patch to buy the seasonal squash = for the=20 first lady.=20

The president selected a pumpkin and picked it up by the stem, = which=20 broke. He bought it anyway and demurred when asked whether he = would be=20 carving it himself.

"I may delegate," he said.

julie.mason@chron.com

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