CIRCLE THE WAGONS: Amid defections, the White...

CIRCLE THE WAGONS: Amid defections, the White House is dispatching perennially popular First Lady Barbara Bush to rally the faithful. . . . Mrs. Bush will be honored at a $250-a-person luncheon Thursday in Irvine and possibly at a separate rally for volunteers. About 2,000 invitations went out last week for the hastily organized lunch to benefit the state and local GOP. Her visit “signifies the amount of attention that we will be getting in Orange County from the Bush campaign,” says Greg Haskin, executive director of the county GOP.