Candidates welcome Bush, despite unpopularity, as GOP cash cow

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Candidates Welcome Bush
Despite Dip in Polls, He's Like a Magnet for GOP Money
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 9, 2005; Page A07


Slumping poll numbers and rebellion in Republican ranks have been tormenting President Bush for months. But he is still welcomed with open arms -- and checkbooks -- when he comes to town with a promise to raise campaign cash for GOP candidates.

Bush, who smashed fundraising records in back-to-back presidential triumphs, has helped raise more than $50 million this year. He is planning to greatly intensify his political efforts for Republican members of Congress in next year's midterm elections, aides said.

The willingness of candidates to enlist Bush's help suggests that even in a season of discontent, the president retains some powerful political assets, ones that could help him improve his fortunes on Capitol Hill and beyond.

White House aides said they are expecting Bush to host scores of fundraisers for GOP House and Senate candidates in 2006 as way to keep the congressional majority intact and to retain leverage over an increasingly combative GOP Congress. Even with Bush's popularity sagging, Republican lawmakers are betting that the money Bush can bring in is worth any political costs associated with a presidential visit....

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This is good news for Bush, GOP strategists say. One barometer of presidential popularity is the eagerness of candidates to appear with the chief executive. In 1994, only a few Democratic candidates were willing to appear with Bill Clinton -- foreshadowing then-Rep. Newt Gingrich's "Republican Revolution" in the midterm elections that fall. On the other hand, even during his second-term sex scandal and impeachment, there were still plenty of Democrats eager for Clinton's help in fundraising....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/08/AR2005120802004.html