WP: Bush, Clinton Ratchet Up the Drama in Maryland and Virginia

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush, Clinton Ratchet Up the Drama
Money Rolls In to Md., Va. Campaigns, but for Some, There May Be a Price
By Robert Barnes and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 20, 2006; Page B01


Former President Clinton makes remarks after receiving a distinguished service award from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006.(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

President Bush added a stern stay-the-course message on the war in Iraq to his buoyant endorsement of Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) yesterday, and the region's high-profile Senate races received special attention not only from the current occupant of the White House but the former one as well.

While Bush raised about $500,000 for Allen at an event in Richmond, former president Bill Clinton raced through Maryland and into Northern Virginia with a similar mission for Democrats in mind.

Clinton headlined a fundraiser for Maryland Senate candidate Benjamin L. Cardin, rallied die-hard Democrats at a park in Baltimore, raised money for gubernatorial candidate Martin O'Malley in Montgomery County and ended his evening across the river in McLean, where 375 Democrats ponied up about $500,000 for Virginia Democratic Senate candidate James Webb.

Clinton told the Baltimore crowd that his party now has a chance to represent not just progressives but also sensible conservatives. "There's something amazing going on here," Clinton said. "This is not a usual election."

In Richmond, Allen may have gotten a bit more support from the president than he wanted; after Bush departed, Allen seemed to distance himself from some of Bush's tough talk on Iraq....

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In overwhelmingly Democratic Maryland, there was no disagreement with anything Clinton said. The crowd at a waterfront park in Baltimore, many wearing union jerseys, held camera cellphones, waved signs and cheered loudly at every applause line in the president's short speech....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901384.html?nav=hcmodule