WSJ: (Republicans are) Backing Away From Bush

[UpInArms]

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114834070897460047-7S8jfZp_kcUa1xVL_wF9_JeaWRE_20060621.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

President Bush goes to Pennsylvania tomorrow to campaign for embattled Republican House members in the Philadelphia suburbs. But one of the candidates isn't expected to be there.

Mr. Bush "is really doing poorly in our state," says Rep. Curt Weldon, explaining why he won't be on hand and hasn't asked for the president's help. "I've got to win this by myself."

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It isn't easy leading your party to victory when a lot of people aren't eager to follow. With Mr. Bush's job-approval ratings skidding as low as 30% in national polls, more Republican candidates face risks in associating closely with him. That is forcing the White House and Republican advisers to improvise a strategy for success.

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Earlier this month, the Democratic National Committee fired off a news release pointing out that a private fund-raiser for Mr. Weldon, headlined by Vice President Dick Cheney, was held in Washington. Until then, the $1,000-a-plate luncheon, held at a lobbying firm, had gone unnoticed in the media. Noting Mr. Bush's low ratings, the DNC said, "maybe that explains why Congressman Weldon held his fund-raiser in Washington, D.C., and not Pennsylvania."

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