Arkansas Blog

Because it gives you a feel for Bush political strategy in coming days, we pass along the first pool report on his visit to LR, now concluded. This is written by a member of the press corps and distributed to those not traveling with the president.

Marine One arrived at the airfield at TSTC a little after 10:00 a.m. CDT. He disembarked and waved, with a few aides trailing, including Joe Hagin and Raul Yanes. Wearing a gray suit and yellow tie. Boarded Air Force One and we were off. Wheels up 10:19 a.m.

Dana came back and gaggled for a few minutes. She announced that Bush will meet with Emir of Kuwait at White House on Sept. 5. She also talked a bit about the speech tomorrow at the American Legion in Salt Lake, saying it would be the first in a series of speeches about the war on terror leading up to the president’s address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 19. She said the president would start trying to put the violence Americans are seeing on their TV screens in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq in a larger context, and that it is all part of a battle between forces of freedom and tyranny. (Asked about Rummy’s comment’s yesterday, she noted that DOD has put out a statement today saying his remarks were mischaracterized.) See transcript to come.

Wheels Down 11:14

Bush was greeted by a small group that included Mike Huckabee and Asa Hutchinson and his wife Susan. (Karl Rove also got off the plane.). Before getting into his limo with Huckabee and Hutchinson, Bush presented the President’s Volunteer Service Award to Joy Cameron, who organized a meal service program for Katrina evacuees. The motorcade to the fundraiser took about 25 minutes—no signs of protest, but at two schools, there were lots of school children waving and cheering as Bush passed by. The motorcade deposited POTUS at the giant Tudor-style home of former Arkansas basketball star Joe Kleine’s house in a tony gated community in west Little Rock. We are now holding at the neighbor’s house.

Mike Abramowitz

Washington Post