Bush Steps From Shadows to Rally GOP Voters

Oct. 28, 2006 — -- President Bush rallied Republicans in southern Indiana this afternoon as he launched a last-ditch effort to try to keep Congress in his party's hands.

"Election Day is 10 days away and we're going to sprint to the finish line," Bush, in rolled-up shirtsleeves and without a tie, told a boisterous, pom-pom shaking crowd. "We'll control the House of Representatives and we'll control the U.S. Senate."

Today's rally for GOP Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-Ind., in the Silver Creek High School gymnasium in Sellersburg, Ind. -- which is about 10 miles north of Louisville, Ky., and the Ohio River -- was the first rally aimed at a broad audience that the president has participated in for the midterm congressional elections, which are just 10 days away.

With polls showing GOP control of the House vulnerable because of voter unhappiness over the president's handling of the Iraq war, many Republican candidates are trying to distance themselves from the president. So far, he's appeared with 15 Republican candidates, compared with 29 events in the same period before the 2002 midterm elections.

Until today, all Bush's campaign trail appearances had been at fundraising events, where the audiences are hardcore party supporters who provide financial backing for the party and its candidates. Since last year, he's raised $193 million for the Republican Party and GOP candidates who'll be on the ballot next month.

"The midterm [election] is a referendum on the president," said Stuart Rothenberg, a political analyst and editor of "The Rothenberg Political Report." "The president's unpopular. Republican candidates don't want him around except to raise money. It's as simple as that."

Poll Finds Democratic Advantage

A Newsweek poll out this weekend finds that 53 percent of likely voters said they will vote for the Democrat in their Congressional district, while 39 percent said they will vote for the Republican. Those surveyed said they trust the Democrats more than the Republicans to handle the situation in Iraq, the economy, health care, and gas and oil prices.

Public trust for the two parties was virtually tied on the questions of terrorism and "moral values" -- which both had been Republican strong suits.

Bush's appearance in Indiana backed Sodrel, who is in a tight race against Democrat Baron Hill. It is the third time Sodrel and Hill have run against each other for the House seat, with Hill winning in 2002 and Sodrel winning by just half a percentage point in 2004.

But some Republican candidates are trying to boost themselves by highlighting their differences with the president. In a campaign ad, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., a moderate who has a tough race this year, said, "I've gone against the president and the Republican leadership when I think they're wrong."

At the same time, Democrats are using ads to link Republican lawmakers running for re-election with Bush, often highlighting how many times they voted to support the president's positions.

In a news conference this week, Bush said he wasn't bothered by either development.

"No, I'm not resentful," he said. "Nor am I resentful that a lot of Democrats are using my picture. All I ask is that they pick out a good one -- make me look good, at least."

First Lady Laura Bush has actually been busier on the campaign trail this year than her husband, often making three stops a day. A CNN Poll taken in September found her approval at 68 percent; the same survey had President Bush's approval rating at 39 percent.

Vice President Cheney has been busy too, making 116 appearances for Republican candidates. So has Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist and a deputy White House chief of staff.

Later Saturday, President Bush was to attend a dinner at a posh golf resort on Kiawah Island, S.C. It's part of a week-long event for about 80 big Republican donors that's generating about $1 million.

As the campaign enters the homestretch, White House schedulers have blocked off eight of the 10 remaining days before Election Day for possible campaign travel by the president. Already he's scheduled to address rallies next week in Georgia, Texas, Montana and Nevada.