Bush Plans to Be Active Presence on Campaign Trail

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From AFP:

Bush and McCain plan to appear side by side at a May 27 fundraiser, their first public embrace since March 5, making the most of one of the president’s most potent remaining political weapons.

Bush has done 19 political fundraisers in 2008, scooping up 37,142,500 dollars, according to records carefully kept by CBS news. His totals since 2001, including his 2004 reelection, are 310 events and 766,782,500 dollars.

The White House says the president plans to campaign vigorously for fellow Republicans, including McCain… “I think you’ll see the president out on the campaign trail quite a bit. We’ll keep you posted on their events that they may have together,” spokesman Scott Stanzel said Monday.

This is helpful for McCain in that Bush can open the wallets of members of the conservative base that have not yet and probably will not warm to McCain. But if Bush does rallies and TV spots instead of just closed-door fundraisers, well… that’s Christmas come early for the Democrats.