thedrifter
10-12-06, 07:35 AM
First lady makes Ohio first stop on fundraising tour
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Dan Sewell
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CINCINNATI — Laura Bush, a popular campaign booster for Republicans nationwide, began a four-state swing yesterday with a fundraiser for an Ohio congressman in a heated re-election battle.
After helping raise about $170,000 at a luncheon for six-term Rep. Steve Chabot, Mrs. Bush headed to Knoxville, Tenn., to raise money for Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker. She planned to be in Indiana and Missouri today for GOP candidates.
Party officials say she has raised nearly $14 million for Republican candidates for the Nov. 7 election. And Mrs. Bush’s visits usually don’t carry the baggage of the president’s sagging approval ratings.
"Everybody respects and admires her," said H.C. "Buck" Niehoff, a longtime Cincinnatiarea Republican activist. "And she’s an attractive fundraiser, as you can see from the turnout today."
About 150 people attended the fundraiser.
Chabot has tried to emphasize his independence and his representation of his constituents in Washington, while Democratic challenger John Cranley, a Cincinnati city councilman, has tied Chabot to Bush. In one Cranley commercial, the voice of a Bush impersonator is heard supposedly calling Chabot, whom he calls "Chabby." The conversation closes: "Steve, I know I can always count on you."
"She may well be one of the most popular first ladies in American history," Chabot said while introducing Mrs. Bush at Cincinnati’s historic Union Terminal and museum center.
Chabot said afterward that he would welcome the president’s campaign help, too. He noted that Vice President Dick Cheney came to Cincinnati to raise funds for him in August.
"We’re not distancing ourselves from the administration at all," Chabot said in an interview. "That’s certainly not the case."
He said he agrees with Bush more often than not, but he has disagreed with the president on such issues as immigration.
Mrs. Bush praised Chabot as "a wonderful leader for Ohio."
The event was rescheduled from August because it conflicted with the funeral of Marine Cpl. Timothy D. Roos, a Cincinnati-area man who died in Iraq.
In the audience yesterday were parents of three other Ohio Marines who were killed in Iraq — Sgt. David Kenneth J. Kreuter, Lance Cpl. Michael J. Cifuentes and Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer — and those of Army Sgt. Benjamin Moore, who died in an accident while training for duty in Iraq.
The crowd gave them a standing ovation when Mrs. Bush thanked them.
Ellie
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Dan Sewell
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CINCINNATI — Laura Bush, a popular campaign booster for Republicans nationwide, began a four-state swing yesterday with a fundraiser for an Ohio congressman in a heated re-election battle.
After helping raise about $170,000 at a luncheon for six-term Rep. Steve Chabot, Mrs. Bush headed to Knoxville, Tenn., to raise money for Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker. She planned to be in Indiana and Missouri today for GOP candidates.
Party officials say she has raised nearly $14 million for Republican candidates for the Nov. 7 election. And Mrs. Bush’s visits usually don’t carry the baggage of the president’s sagging approval ratings.
"Everybody respects and admires her," said H.C. "Buck" Niehoff, a longtime Cincinnatiarea Republican activist. "And she’s an attractive fundraiser, as you can see from the turnout today."
About 150 people attended the fundraiser.
Chabot has tried to emphasize his independence and his representation of his constituents in Washington, while Democratic challenger John Cranley, a Cincinnati city councilman, has tied Chabot to Bush. In one Cranley commercial, the voice of a Bush impersonator is heard supposedly calling Chabot, whom he calls "Chabby." The conversation closes: "Steve, I know I can always count on you."
"She may well be one of the most popular first ladies in American history," Chabot said while introducing Mrs. Bush at Cincinnati’s historic Union Terminal and museum center.
Chabot said afterward that he would welcome the president’s campaign help, too. He noted that Vice President Dick Cheney came to Cincinnati to raise funds for him in August.
"We’re not distancing ourselves from the administration at all," Chabot said in an interview. "That’s certainly not the case."
He said he agrees with Bush more often than not, but he has disagreed with the president on such issues as immigration.
Mrs. Bush praised Chabot as "a wonderful leader for Ohio."
The event was rescheduled from August because it conflicted with the funeral of Marine Cpl. Timothy D. Roos, a Cincinnati-area man who died in Iraq.
In the audience yesterday were parents of three other Ohio Marines who were killed in Iraq — Sgt. David Kenneth J. Kreuter, Lance Cpl. Michael J. Cifuentes and Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer — and those of Army Sgt. Benjamin Moore, who died in an accident while training for duty in Iraq.
The crowd gave them a standing ovation when Mrs. Bush thanked them.
Ellie