"I’ll be on your side forever more..." If you haven’t noticed, President Bush’s call sheet isn’t exactly full these days. With an approval rating in the 20s, this president is finding out who his friends really are. Good thing for him, Steve LaTourette’s still got him on speed dial.
As we watch one congressional Republican after another awkwardly announce that they have "other plans" during their own party’s convention, Steve LaTourette would never miss a chance to rub shoulders with George Bush. This Tuesday Congressman LaTourette called up his best buddy and invited him to a fundraiser in Gates Mills, Ohio, at the home of one of his biggest donors. To no one’s surprise, the president happily accepted and spent a few minutes at a local factory pretending to do something about the economy and the energy crisis. By evening, the real work began.
With the price of admission costing a mere $10,000 (and an elite level supporter paying $25,000), Steve LaTourette and George Bush helped each other out to the tune of over $530,000 dollars for congressional Republicans. All in all it was a productive trip for President Bush. Aside from tying up one of the busiest highways in Northeast Ohio because of his motorcade (thereby causing people to sit in traffic and waste their $4/gallon gas), George Bush helped pay back Steve LaTourette for all those votes in favor of Big Oil and Big Energy. After all, "that’s what friends are for."
Justin Barasky
Press Secretary
O’Neill for Congress