http://www.newsmax.com/politics/bush/2008/06/18/105718.html
Bush Rallies Behind McCain at Fundraising Dinner
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
WA****NGTON -- Seeking to energize party loyalists, President Bush on
Wednesday gave his most extended public sup****t to Sen. John McCain,
his former foe for the White House. The president said McCain is the
only candidate in the race who can face tough decisions and "will not
flinch."
In a full-throated fundraising appearance for Republicans, Bush never
mentioned the name of McCain's opponent in the presidential race,
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. But his critiques of Obama and
Democratic leaders in Congress were clear as he turned their themes of
"change" and "hope" against them.
Bush presided over an annual dinner at the cavernous Wa****ngton
Convention Center, the last such fundraiser of his presidency. This
one raised $21.5 million for Republican House and Senate candidates,
an amount that easily topped last year's total but fell short of
figures raised in earlier years.
The ostensible goal was to help the Republican Party win back
Congress. In the House, where every seat is up for election this year,
the Democrats hold an edge of 37 seats. In the Senate, where one-third
of seats are on the ballot, the split is 49-49, with two independents
who caucus with the Democrats.
Yet Bush put much of his energy in rallying sup****t for McCain,
mentioning his name time and again. McCain, the longtime Arizona
senator, ran against Bush in 2000 but lost in the Republican primary.
He eventually backed both of Bush's presidential bids and is getting
the president's sup****t in return.
"In trying times, America needs a president who has been tested and
will not flinch," Bush told an audience of roughly 3,400 people.
"We need a president who has the experience and judgment to do what is
right, even when it is not easy," Bush said. "We need a president who
knows what it takes to defeat our enemies. And this year, there is
only one man who has shown those qualities of leader****p, and that man
is John McCain."
Bush and McCain rarely appear in public together _ the senator was
campaigning in Missouri and Illinois on Wednesday _ and Bush's
speeches on his behalf tend to come at GOP fundraisers that are closed
to the media.
Bush took the chance to sharply criticize a Supreme Court ruling that
allows detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their
indefinite imprisonment in U.S. civilian courts. Obama applauded the
decision, while McCain derided it as one of the worst decisions in the
country's history.
"With this decision, hardened terrorists _ hardened foreign terrorists
_ now enjoy certain legal rights previously reserved for American
citizens," Bush said. "This is precisely the kind of judicial activism
that frustrates the American people."
He said the best way to change that practice is to put Republicans in
charge of the Senate and McCain at the helm of the White House.
Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee, said "all the campaign cash in the world won't fool voters
into re-electing Republican senators who have overwhelmingly backed
George Bush's failed agenda."
The president said that when the public starts to pay attention to the
2008 election this fall, they will rally behind Republican candidates
because of their positions on taxes, national security and the
"culture of life." He criticized Democrats for maintaining a defeatist
attitude in the unpopular war in Iraq.
"The other side talks a lot about hope, and that sums up their Iraq
policy pretty well," Bush said. "They want to retreat from Iraq and
hope nothing bad happens. Wishful thinking is no way to fight a war."
Bush's approval ratings remain near record lows. His overall public
approval stands at 29 percent, according to an AP-Ipsos poll conducted
June 12-16. The approval rating for Congress is even lower, 23
percent.
From the event, $13.5 million will go to the National Republican
Senatorial Committee and $8 million to the National Republican
Congressional Committee.
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