CAMPAIGN ’88 : Bush Woos Polish Vote

Bush spent most of the day boning up for Sunday’s debate with his Democratic opponent, but the vice president carved some time out of his schedule Wednesday for an official meeting with Janusz Onyszkiewicz of the Polish labor movement Solidarity.

In keeping with the importance he has placed on attracting ethnic voters, Bush allowed photographers--but not reporters--to record the session. Later, the vice president’s office issued a Bush statement about the meeting with Onyszkiewicz, whom Bush first met last fall during a highly publicized visit to Eastern Europe.

The Republican presidential nominee lauded Solidarity as “a beacon for all peoples in Poland and the rest of the world,” and said he looked forward to the legalization of the organization.

“I applaud the continuing attempts by Polish workers and citizens to achieve greater freedom,” he added.

Visits to Polish churches and community centers have been a staple of the Bush campaign, and Polish-American groups have been largely sympathetic to him because of their shared antipathy toward the Soviet Union. The campaign views Polish-Americans as a valuable bloc that can afford Bush entree to a more Democratic, blue-collar group than he usually attracts.