The congressman introduced Bush as "no stranger to the people of our region. He's been to our region more than any other president in history." Moreover, he said, "My family and I are humbled by the support he has given our campaign.
" As he reached out to Bush and said "Please join me in welcoming...
" those in the audience gave the president a standing ovation. Bush called Sherwood "the right man to serve the people of the 10th District," and rattled off a laundry list of things the congressman had done. Among them were support for Tobyhanna Army Depot and for Pennsylvania's dairy farmers, and attempts to increase job opportunities, to cut taxes and to keep the people of the district safe.
Then Bush veered off campaign policy matters, by first looking over to Carol Sherwood. "I'm glad Carol's with us today," he said to the roughly 300 people gathered. And without mentioning Mr.
Sherwood's 5-year affair with a woman half his age, or the publicity surrounding it which actually put Sherwood in a tough reelection race, Bush said he had read a letter that Carol Sherwood had sent out to selected constituents in her husband's congressional district the previous week. "I read Carol's letter," the president said about her concern over her husband's opponent for his trying to focus on the marital affair in campaign advertising. "I was deeply moved by her words," Bush added.
"Carol's letter shows what a courageous and caring woman she is. Mrs. Sherwood smiled, and then Bush looked back at the audience and acknowledged, "I am not Don's first choice to be here.
" He said his wife Laura wanted to come but had other commitments. Bush noted that she, too, believed Sherwood ought to be reelected. Bush then got a few thank yous out of the way: to Pres.
Ned Boehm and Keystone College, and to the grassroots supporters he admitted would be crucial in the weeks ahead. He also pointed out the presence of former Lt. Gov.
Bill Scranton in the audience. Then, Bush launched into some campaign themes he wanted to see hammered throughout the next three weeks of the campaign. Without mentioning Sherwood's Democratic opponent Chris Carney by name, he tried to establish in the audience's mind that he would be just like the rest of the Democrats in Washington.
"This is a party that's genetically hostile to tax relief," the president said without getting into specifics. He did note "The pro-growth economic policies that Don Sherwood supported have made this economy strong and we intend to keep it growing." He claimed that Democrats were interested in cutting and running from the war in Iraq which "would be fulfilling Osama bin Laden's highest aspirations.
" He acknowledged that would be a bad course to follow and vowed, "America will stay, we will fight and we will win in Iraq." But just when he got the group wound up, Bush decided to close with an anecdote about going to Memphis, Tenn., this summer with Japan's prime minister to see Elvis Presley's estate.
"Someday," he said, "An American president will be sitting down, talking peace with duly elected leaders in the Middle East and generations of Americans will be better off." Asked about the president's remarks, Carney said Bush was way off base to think that he (Carney) would vote to cut and run from Iraq or that he was not interested in tax relief. "I believe tax relief should go to the middle class," Carney said, "not the wealthiest among us.
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