Reply #28: WONDERFUL article you posted! The ending is so enjoyable.

[Judi Lynn]

Referring to the candidate the White House hoped would run against Robert Byrd:

"To say we threw everything and the kitchen sink at her would be an understatement," said one GOP official, who spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing the White House's recruitment efforts.

But it was not enough to lure Capito out of her comfortable House seat and into a campaign that would surely have been a costly, bitter match attracting national attention.

Capito said her decision wasn't affected by Bush's low public approval ratings, but she acknowledged that the president might not be as much of an asset if she had made a Senate run as he was for her in the past.

"In 2002, when I ran for my second term, the president came in and gave me a 5 point bump up in the polls," Capito said. "Whether he has the ability to bump someone up at this point is a valid question."
(snip/)

Simply lovely reading! Thanks a lot.