Laura Bush is more popular anyway
George W. Bush was supposed to stop in Topeka, Kan., on Tuesday for a fundraiser to help congressional candidate Lynn Jenkins in her effort to unseat Topeka Democrat Nancy Boyda.
In the time-honored manner, invitations to the closed-door event at a private home requested contributions of anywhere from $500 (gets you in the door) to $7,500 (gets you a picture with POTUS).
But now Bush has canceled the date so that he can travel to Texas to inspect damage from Hurricane Ike, part of the White House effort to help John McCain by demonstrating that Republicans have learned their lesson from the flawed federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
He's sending First Lady Laura Bush instead. Which is probably better. She's usually about 20 points ahead of the president in approval ratings anyway
And Boyda, who was planning to march on the State Capitol in protest of Bush's use of taxpayer funds to fly to Topeka, is also backing off.
“President Bush has canceled his planned visit to Kansas tomorrow in order to comfort victims and lead the relief effort," she told the Lawrence, Kan., Journal-World. "He’ll have my full support, and I'll work in Congress to swiftly provide whatever relief is needed.”
-- Johanna Neuman
Photo: Greg Wolf/Wilmington Star-News
