Presidential 2-for-1: Malaria and Money in Connecticut
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
New York Times
HARTFORD, Conn. --- The Northwest Boys and Girls Club of Hartford might seem an unlikely place for President Bush to commemorate Malaria Awareness Day. Unless, that is, the president also has an invitation to headline a closed-door fund-raiser for a Republican House candidate at the expansive Connecticut estate of Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state.
That is precisely what Mr. Bush did Friday, in a quirk of White House scheduling that may become increasingly common as the campaign season goes on.
Mr. Bush remains a prolific fund-raiser – the Republican National Committee says he has raised $102 million since the beginning of 2007 – but he almost always links his political work with official travel. After all, how would it look for the president to climb aboard Air Force One, with an entourage of White House staff and Secret Service agents, and fly off somewhere just to rustle up campaign cash?
Friday’s juxtaposition of money matters with disease prevention brought Mr. Bush in contact not only with the white-haired Mr. Kissinger, but with fresh-faced and eager young boys and girls who are doing some fundraising of their own to combat malaria – all in the span of two hours. But the day raised a few interesting questions: Just how does the White House marry the political and the official? Which came first, the fund-raiser or the Boys and Girls Club? Mr. Bush signed a presidential proclamation in honor of Malaria Awareness Day in the Oval Office Friday morning. Why did he need a malaria event in Connecticut too?
(Continued here.)
New York Times
HARTFORD, Conn. --- The Northwest Boys and Girls Club of Hartford might seem an unlikely place for President Bush to commemorate Malaria Awareness Day. Unless, that is, the president also has an invitation to headline a closed-door fund-raiser for a Republican House candidate at the expansive Connecticut estate of Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state.
That is precisely what Mr. Bush did Friday, in a quirk of White House scheduling that may become increasingly common as the campaign season goes on.
Mr. Bush remains a prolific fund-raiser – the Republican National Committee says he has raised $102 million since the beginning of 2007 – but he almost always links his political work with official travel. After all, how would it look for the president to climb aboard Air Force One, with an entourage of White House staff and Secret Service agents, and fly off somewhere just to rustle up campaign cash?
Friday’s juxtaposition of money matters with disease prevention brought Mr. Bush in contact not only with the white-haired Mr. Kissinger, but with fresh-faced and eager young boys and girls who are doing some fundraising of their own to combat malaria – all in the span of two hours. But the day raised a few interesting questions: Just how does the White House marry the political and the official? Which came first, the fund-raiser or the Boys and Girls Club? Mr. Bush signed a presidential proclamation in honor of Malaria Awareness Day in the Oval Office Friday morning. Why did he need a malaria event in Connecticut too?
(Continued here.)
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