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Bush Fund-Raising Trip Nets $41.4 Million

Posted on: Saturday, 19 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Since President Bush launched his bid for re-election on May 16, his campaign has raised at least $41.4 million. That's more than $635,000 a day and counting.

He was wrapping up two days of fund raising with a trip Saturday afternoon to Houston for a reception. More than 700 people paid a minimum of $2,000 apiece for a chance to hear Bush speak. The president raised $7 million this weekend during his Texas trip, the biggest haul on any trip to a state this year.

The president spent a quiet morning at the ranch in Crawford, getting his regular CIA briefing, taking a walk with first lady Laura Bush and clearing some brush, then relaxed prior to his planned trip to Houston, aides said.

When the president arrived in Houston Saturday afternoon, his motorcade moved past the boot shops, barbecue restaurants and other Western-theme businesses outside the airport and was greeted by scattered protesters along the road and approximately 100 at the hotel.

One protester dressed like Uncle Sam held a sign that said "He lied, GI died." Another protester waving an American flag had a sign that said: "Bush lied, men died." One sign referred to the contested results of the 2000 election, saying "Thief stole the presidency."

The president's campaign has talked of raising $170 million to $200 million this year in preparation for the 2004 campaign. He had almost $33 million in the bank when the second quarter wrapped up at the end of June, three times as much as the Democratic candidate with the most money in the bank, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

Bush's continued dominance in fund raising comes at a time his public support has been slipping. Polls out this week showed his job approval rating slipping to the mid-50s, while anxiety about the economy and the situation in Iraq appears to be on the rise.

The Bush administration has been getting intense criticism in the last week about using questionable evidence about Iraq's attempts to buy uranium in Africa. And U.S. troops have been dying at the rate of about one a day in Iraq.

The president talked of the United States' victories in the war on terror in his speech in Dallas Friday night, but made no mention of the continuing problems in Iraq or the controversy about the use of flawed intelligence before the war.

In his radio address Saturday, the president said, "The American economy is headed in the right direction, and we can be confident of better days ahead." He said returning more money to taxpayers will help boost the economy.

On Sunday and Monday, Bush will reward Italian leader and war ally Silvio Berlusconi with a visit to the president's ranch in Crawford.

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On the Net:

Bush-Cheney campaign: http://www.georgewbush.com

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