With Obama in Europe, Bush raids Illinois for $700 GOP G's
The Ticket has regularly reported on President Bush's low favorability ratings and high fundraising numbers.
Now, more proof. Today Illinois state Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria isn't one of those Republicans who shy away from appearing with the nation's chief executive and top Republican.
When Air Force One landed at Greater Peoria Regional Airport today, Schock was there to escort Bush to a fundraiser on behalf of his congressional bid.
Schock also was on the tarmac to bid the president farewell.
"It's an honor to have the president of the United States here," Schock told members of the national media pool traveling with Bush. "We had a great event today. It's great that he made the time to come here today. It's the second time in the second term. It says a lot about our community."
The 26-year-old Schock is making a bid to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood in central Illinois' 18th Congressional District -- a district that still leans Republican in a state that has shifted heavily toward the Democratic column. And the Democratic party will have an Illinoisan at the top of its national ticket on Nov. 4.
It's crucial for the GOP's hopes come November to at least hang on to the seats the party already controls.
Schock faces Democrat Colleen Callahan, who was appointed by party officials as the congressional nominee in March.
The president helped rake in about $700,000 from an estimated 1,400 fundraising tickets sold at $500 apiece for a luncheon, plus an unknown number of $5,000 tickets for people wanting to be photographed with him.
Our co-blogger Johanna Neuman at Countdown to Crawford has this take on Bush's moneyraising today. And our good blogging buddy Rick Pearson over at the Swamp has the full story on what's playing in Peoria today right here.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: AFP
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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'bush raids illinois' now? and the corpse-like depiction of mccain etc...
would this mean: 'changed directives to the media. drop mccain. don't make it too obvious.'
apparently, the agreement is to let obama and his 'watchdogs' and 'ventriloquists' run rampant for a while, to create more chaos, despair and hope, and in 2012 herd the bamboozled people into the 'peaceful and secure' 'brave new world' of total control and surveillance meanwhile implemented, to eliminate all individual rights, accountability of government, and national sovereignty. unless the people decide to stand up for their rights and freedom, as guaranteed by their constitution, and proposed by RON PAUL.
Posted by: dave | July 26, 2008 at 03:25 AM