Bush's presence still wanted

2005-11-07 11:15

Brasilia - President George W Bush's detour to Virginia on his way home from Latin America on Monday shows that, despite all his troubles, he can still be considered an asset in a close political race.

Bush will try to push Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore over the edge in the deadlocked campaign's final hours on Monday night. The president and other state Republicans will appear with Kilgore, who served as Bush's Virginia re-election campaign chairperson, in a rally at the Richmond airport.

Wrapping up a five-day trip to Latin America, Bush is scheduled to make the stop on his flight home from Panama.

The latest polls shows the Virginia governor's race is a dead heat between Kilgore and Democrat Timothy Kaine leading into Tuesday's voting.

Avoiding Bush over low ratings

Some political observers have questioned whether Republicans will try to distance themselves from Bush now that public support of his presidency is at an all-time low.

Last month, California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, stayed away from a Bush fundraiser in Los Angeles.

Kilgore skipped Bush's anti-terrorism speech in Norfolk, Virginia on October 28. Kilgore's failure to show up was widely seen as evidence that Bush was too radioactive for a vulnerable political candidate.

Kilgore's campaign said he had prior commitments. White House aides said they did not invite Kilgore because it was an official presidential event where it would not have been appropriate for Bush to appear with a political candidate.

Bush also held a fund-raiser for Kilgore in July at a supporter's home in the posh Washington suburb of McClean, Virginia. White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said other leading administration officials also have campaigned for him.

Bush's troubles

A recent AP-Ipsos poll found the president's national approval rating was 37% as the war in Iraq drags on, a top White House aide faces felony charges and Bush recently had to replace a failed Supreme Court nominee.

Bush's approval rating is slightly higher in Virgina at 42%, according to polling conducted last week by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.

It's unclear whether Bush's troubles are holding down Republican votes in the governor's race. The Democrat Kaine was pulling 45%, while Republican Kilgore was at 44%in the Mason-Dixon poll that had a margin of error of 4% points.

The president's visit isn't the only help Kilgore is getting from the Bush political machine. Republican national committee chairperson Ken Mehlman and several members of the White House political staff helped to bring out the vote over the weekend.

Top Bush political adviser Karl Rove, who is being investigated in the leak of a CIA officer's identity in the case that has resulted in perjury charges against I Lewis "Scooter" Libby, vice-president Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, also was consulting by phone.

- AP