Buoyed by signs of a last-minute Republican comeback, President George W. Bush spent Monday imploring voters to block Democrats from retaking Congress in today’s midterm election.
Karl Rove, the president’s chief political strategist, said he was feeling good about several polls showing Republicans rebounding against Democrats, who had enjoyed significant leads for weeks. Rove told reporters that a variety of races seemed to be moving in the GOP’s favor in the final hours of the campaign.
Asked to give his final prediction, Rove held up his fingers in a V and simply said: “Victory.”
Bush began the final day of the campaign at a rally of 9,000 people in Pensacola, Fla., a Republican stronghold where he was scheduled to be introduced by GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. But at the last minute, Crist decided his time would be better spent campaigning elsewhere in the state, where Republican support is weaker.
Rove noted that Crist would be hard pressed to find a larger rally than the one in Pensacola. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow insisted Crist was not snubbing Bush.
“Look, he says he wants to go around and go for votes around the state,” Snow told reporters. “You’ve got to keep in mind, these events are not only important for revving up Republicans who are in the vicinity, but people all around the country.”
So the president was introduced by his brother, outgoing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and wasted no time in voicing his support for the absent Crist.
“I strongly suggest you vote for Charlie Crist to be governor of the state of Florida,” the president said. “He’s experienced, he’s compassionate and he’ll work hard on behalf of all the citizens in this important state.”
Bush went on to praise volunteers for working to get Republicans to the polls today. The GOP is generally considered to have a better get-out-the-vote operation than Democrats.
“I thank you for what you’re going to do for the next 24 hours,” the president said. “You’re going to pick up the phone. You’re going to make the phone calls. You’re going to turn out your friends and neighbors. And we’re going to win.”
But such an outcome would actually hurt the president, according to his predecessor, President Clinton.
“The best thing that could ever happen to the president is if the Democrats won the House and the Senate, because we’d show up for work,” Clinton told a rally in Rochester, N.Y.
He urged voters to elect Democrats and end “this ideological division that has ravaged our country.”
National polls of likely voters showed the race tightening over the weekend. The Pew Research Center showed voters preferred Democrats by a margin of 47 percent to 43 percent. That‚s a spread of just four points, compared to 11 in the same poll two weeks ago.
Similarly, an ABC News poll showed Republicans have cut the Democratic lead from 14 points to six since Oct. 22.
But Democrats continued to enjoy larger leads in other polls, including a CNN survey that showed Republicans down 20 points.
Part of the Washington DC Examiner’s 2006 election coverage.
