NYT: Bush Joins Hastert at Rally, and Lavishes the Praise

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush Joins Hastert at Rally, and Lavishes the Praise
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: October 13, 2006

CHICAGO, Oct. 12 — President Bush came to the home turf of the House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert, on Thursday to give him a resounding pledge of support before a revved-up group of Republican donors, activists and leaders who were clearly glad to witness a presidential lift for the buffeted dean of their state party.

Appearing at a fund-raising event for two local Republican House candidates facing competitive races, David McSweeney and Peter Roskam, Mr. Bush bounded onto the stage alongside Mr. Hastert, whose Congressional district is several miles outside Chicago. Standing beside the speaker, Mr. Bush, wearing a smile that lasted for minutes, gave him a hearty handshake as Mr. Hastert, beaming, patted him on the back.

Mr. Bush came here with a far larger retinue of photographers and reporters than usual for such campaign trips. It was evidence of the anticipation surrounding his visit as questions continued to swirl about what Mr. Hastert’s office knew, and when, about former Representative Mark Foley’s e-mail to male pages.

Mr. Bush seemed more than happy to oblige....“Before I liberate the speaker so he doesn’t have to stand up here for that long, Speaker, I want to say this to you,” Mr. Bush said. “I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House who is going to be the future speaker of the House.”...

***

Mr. Bush’s appearance completed what has appeared to be a gradual but now unmistakable White House embrace of Mr. Hastert since news first surfaced that Mr. Foley had sent risqué e-mail to Congressional pages. The visit reflected in part a calculation by the White House and party leaders that providing a protective phalanx for the speaker would help cool some of the heat from the controversy and press ahead on the party’s election-year message on terrorism and taxes....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/us/politics/13bush.html

[riderinthestorm]

1. I really, really, really hope this comes around and bites them all in the

ass. $1.2 mil raised in a single fundraiser for those grotesque parodies of humanity, standing on the stage all together....

It's looking more and more likely that Hastert had to have known about Foley. All these repukes trying to brush it off - damn, I hope these photos plague them forever. Fordham is talking. Palmer is going to either have to perjure himself, or both Denny and he are going to perjure themselves.

Land of Lincoln my ass. No honesty here folks, move along....

[aquart]

3. I hope every dime is spent and wasted.

These people are insufficiently taxed. They have nothing left to buy but a government.

[babylonsister]

2. That hopefully will be both their downfalls. Hastert has been

proven to have lied, and isn't he the first person to fire those that do?

[gumby]

4. Just watched that abomination on C-Span.

Bush did his tired and worn-out routine:
Laura-Laura-Laura, Democrats bad, terra-terra-terra, Democrats bad, lower taxes-lower taxes, Democrats bad, terra-terra-terra.

Repeat until you :puke:

[Human Torch]

5. "Before I liberate the speaker"...like he liberated Iraq?

I'd be satisfied if he could simply liberate his head from his own ass. THEN I'd feel like he had stumbled upon a winning strategery.

[Maraya1969]

6. What is Bono doing with him???

[madrchsod]

7. the 14th district is not 'heavy d`s' home turf

the nytimes can`t get anything straight....

[cui bono]

8. Great! A Bush appearance could lower Hastert's lead by 10 points. nt