Some Republicans wary of Bush tie as election looms

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Despite their revolt over the Dubai
ports deal, Republicans say they remain loyal to President
George W. Bush. But there are signs many may distance
themselves from him as the 2006 congressional election nears.

“I’m sure some members already have and I imagine there
will be others,” said one Republican senator who asked not to
be named.

“Republicans are determined that they aren’t going to lose
these elections because they’re seen as too close to Bush,”
said a former Republican leadership aide. “In the past six
years, Congress has taken its cues from the White House. I
think you will see that change.”

The move away from Bush became more apparent in the past
week as the political firestorm over whether an Arab-owned
company should run terminals at six U.S. ports culminated in
the firm withdrawing from the deal. Bush has faced Republican
opposition on a number of other issues, including a
controversial immigration plan and unpopular spending cuts
ahead of the fall congressional elections.ports

Bush will not be on the ballot in November but fellow
Republicans who will be may find that the president, battered
by slumping polls numbers, could be a drag on their efforts to
retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

While congressional Republicans stood firmly with Bush
during his first term, particularly on the tax cuts and the
Iraq war, Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the
University of Virginia, said Republicans are running away from
him. The port deal is the latest and most vivid example.

‘A GODSEND’

“In a way, the port deal was a godsend to them,” Sabato
said. “It allowed them to put a lot of daylight between
themselves and a very unpopular president.

“I’d bet you that most Republicans on the ballot this year
end up citing their opposition to the port deal to show how
independent they are — that they are independent Republicans,
not ‘Bush Republicans.”‘

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said
the belief that Republicans in Congress are bailing out on Bush
is “an inaccurate perception.”

During a teleconference with reporters about the federal
announcement that the U.S. economy created 240,000 new jobs
last month, Hastert said on Friday: “We work with the president
… That’s why we have this economic growth.”

Asked whether Republicans could best hold onto the House if
they distance themselves from Bush, Hastert said: “What we’re
going to do is what’s good for this country.”

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri,
said, “There are lots of tremendous successes in this
administration.”

Yet polls show rising public discontent with Bush and the
Republican-led Congress. In fact, recent surveys show the
president’s approval rating has slipped to below 40 percent, a
personal record low.

This has occurred amid public concern and outrage on
matters from the Iraq war to the administration’s response to
Hurricane Katrina to Vice President Dick Cheney’s response to
accidentally shooting a fellow hunter.

Marshall Wittmann, who served in the administration of
Bush’s father and is now with the Democratic Leadership Council
after a stint as a Senate Republican aide, said, “Many
Republicans are scratching their heads and wondering if this is
the gang that can’t get anything right.”

(Additional reporting by Donna Smith and Richard Cowan)