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Bush stays out of sight
08/11/2006 07:27 - (SA)
Washington - US President George W Bush stayed out of sight late on Tuesday as exit polls showed him much on the mind of voters punishing his Republicans over the Iraq war and corruption scandals.
"The president is in a good mood," White House spokesperson Tony Snow said before US television networks buzzed with predictions, based on partial tallies, that fed opposition Democrats' hopes of retaking the US congress.
Bush, who hunkered down at the White House for a beef loin dinner with top advisers, snubbed television coverage in favour of getting minute-by-minute updates directly from officials running Republican campaigns, an aide said.
It was not clear whether those strategists were disputing early media predictions about the outcome, which was to shape his legacy and his last two years in office and could heap pressure on him to change course in Iraq.
Recovering from a final campaign push that took him to 10 states over five days, Bush voted at the firehouse in his tiny adopted hometown of Crawford, Texas, then flew back to Washington to await the judgment of US voters.
The US president, dropping his fierce rhetorical attacks on opposition Democrats, issued a final rallying cry for voters to turn out for the crucial midterm elections even as worry-faced aides predicted victory.
Bush planned to stay out of sight and break his silence on the hard-fought vote only on Wednesday.
- AFP
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