Bush Team Easing Into State With Visit by First Lady

Two months after the inauguration, and following presidential visits to 19 other states, the Bush administration is preparing its first foray into California.

But it won’t be President Bush touching down in the state, which has become a Democratic dominion. Instead, his wife, Laura, plans to visit Los Angeles on Thursday on her first solo trip outside of Washington as first lady.

As part of a two-day trip, she is scheduled to stop at Morningside Elementary School in San Fernando, where she is to read to students. She then is scheduled to meet with educators at Occidental College, taking national her campaign to promote reading and teacher recruitment.

But whether by accident or design, the affable Mrs. Bush could also serve as a much-needed emissary to a state that has gotten off to a decidedly icy start with the new president.

“Turning California into a political strength is going to be a long, difficult process. But the most popular member of any administration is usually the first lady, and sending Mrs. Bush to break the ground for other Bush representatives is a smart strategy,” said Dan Schnur, a GOP consultant based in the state.

Although President Clinton was in Santa Monica a month after taking office, Bush has looked on the Golden State as something akin to China: massive, mysterious, intrinsically hostile and impossible to ignore.

Democrat Al Gore won California in a landslide last year, despite being outspent about $20 million to nothing. From Bush’s perspective, things have not improved much since.

The day before he was inaugurated, a statewide Field Poll found nearly half of Californians surveyed did not believe Bush won Florida, the state that gave him the presidency. A Los Angeles Times Poll last month showed that 44% of state residents disapproved of Bush’s hands-off approach to the energy crunch, while only 33% approved.

So, it comes as little surprise that Bush has visited more than a third of the states so far in a cross-country tour to promote his $1.6-trillion tax cut plan, with California nowhere on the itinerary.

Strategists say Bush has targeted states that voted heavily for him in November but that have Democratic senators who might be persuaded to support the tax cut--hardly California’s profile.

“He could make 45 trips to California and he wouldn’t get [Democratic Sens.] Barbara Boxer or Dianne Feinstein to vote for his tax bill,” said California GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum.

Instead, a state visit would almost certainly entail a battery of hostile media questions about a subject--electricity deregulation--that the president would rather not discuss.

But Mrs. Bush is almost guaranteed to enjoy largely uncritical news coverage.

Efforts are underway to team her up at Morningside Elementary with Mexican President Vicente Fox, who plans to be in the state the same day. On Friday, she is scheduled to meet with members of the military in San Diego to promote the Troops to Teachers program, which encourages retired military to make education a second career.

“Her visit sends a strong signal that it doesn’t matter what the politics are--education is important to all Americans,” said Noelia Rodriguez, Mrs. Bush’s press secretary. “This is not about politics. It’s about priorities. And education is certainly a priority for all Americans.”

But not all Democrats are ready to give the first lady a free pass.

“My view is she should be treated by the Democrats no differently than the Republicans treated Hillary Clinton,” said Bob Mulholland, a consultant with the state Democratic Party. “We shouldn’t have a hands-off attitude with her. She represents the administration that wants to drill oil in the Arctic and cut back on worker safety and eliminate any federal help for international organizations that provide abortion services.”

At the least, an appearance by Mrs. Bush should give a morale boost to California Republicans, whose party is in deep disarray--”a lonely breed,” as Hoffenblum termed the GOP faithful. “There is not one elected Republican in California who’s a household word. But Laura Bush is.”

Bush’s political advisors have worked at restructuring the state organization to help resuscitate the party. But even some Republicans believe Bush’s arms-distance approach to the electricity shortage was a missed opportunity to improve relations with state voters.

“After the [1994] Northridge earthquake, you couldn’t throw a brick without hitting a Clinton Cabinet member,” Schnur said.

The White House insists that California is on its radar; Bush advisors have likened it to El Paso, where he lost badly in his 1994 run for Texas governor and where he dubbed the city his special project and improved his showing dramatically in the next race.

“They look at California as that same kind of challenge,” Schnur said. “They want to focus on the weakness rather than just trying to work around it.”

Sooner or later, experts say, Bush is bound to show up. “No question about it,” Schnur said. “California is important in terms of the nation’s economic well-being and social condition, but rebuilding a Republican base out here is just as important. Starting a reelection campaign 55 electoral votes in the hole is no fun.”