Governor to keep distance from Bush _ again
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, AP Political Writer
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
(10-18) 19:00 PDT Los Angeles (AP) --
At the Republican National Convention last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't say enough good things about President Bush. But lately, it looks like he's trying to avoid him.
The president will visit California this week for the second time since August, but he and the Republican governor are not expected to see each other — in public or private — for the second consecutive time.
With the Nov. 8 special election looming, Schwarzenegger is trying to court independents and Democrats to support a string of his ballot proposals — two groups of voters that polls show loath the Republican president.
"Unless President Bush is coming to California to hand over a check from the federal government to help us with the financial challenges we face, the visit seems ill timed," said Karen Hanretty, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/10/18/state/n190041D15.DTL