Bush Is Set to Embark on a Whirlwind Schedule

President Bush is planning to play an aggressive role in the autumn congressional campaigns, seeking to retain a Republican majority in the House and restore Republican leadership of the Senate.

Of the 230 days so far this year, Bush has been out of Washington all or part of 119, slightly more than one trip every other day, and not including his weekend visits to Camp David. He is likely to speed up even that torrid pace in the next two months.

White House officials have said that during some weeks, Bush may be on the road four or five days.

Not all of his political work, however, will be visible.

On Friday, for instance, in what politicians consider a crucial part of their job, he spent roughly two hours performing what is known as “donor maintenance.”

In black-and-white checkered shirt, black denim pants, black boots and a Western-style belt bearing four Texas Lone Stars, he schmoozed with some of the most generous contributors to his 2000 presidential campaign, those who gave $100,000 each or were responsible for rounding up that sum from others.

They were invited from around the country to a barbecue at the Broken Spoke Ranch, owned by Bush neighbors Stan and Kathy Hickey; the Hickeys had hosted a similar luncheon in April. The guests clattered over the cattle guard in luxury coaches, passing beneath a metal sign featuring depictions of a military helicopter, two cactuses and three wagon wheels.

An informal survey--reporters were barred from the event--suggested a smaller turnout than four months ago. In April, private jets bringing the guests to central Texas caused near-gridlock on the tarmac of the small airport in Waco, the nearest landing strip that could accommodate them.

But Rebecca Fleming, of Texas Aero, which services private aircraft, said only about 20 had landed for the Friday party, down from about 75 in April.

To these supporters, some of whom were not regular political contributors in the past--at least not at such a high level--the underlying message was this: Don’t forget the congressional candidates this year.

Bush hopes to protect, if not expand, the Republicans’ 12-vote lead in the House. In the Senate, Democrats hold a one-vote margin.

The immediate need for money is not readily apparent. Under tighter circumstances, the party would cut off funding for campaigns that appear to be going down the tubes, spending it instead on close races where it might make a difference.

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Still Supporting Simon

In California, Bill Simon Jr.’s struggling gubernatorial race might be a candidate for such economies, with the national party deciding to cut its losses. But the party has decided it is flush enough to continue supporting Simon’s effort.

One Republican lobbyist in Washington said the reports he is getting from Republican National Committee officials suggest “they’re getting money hand over fist, and they’re setting all kinds of records in the money they’re getting.”

Party officials would not disclose how much money they have received in recent weeks. Official reports are not due for several weeks.

During his 19 months in office, Bush has spoken at nearly 50 fund-raising breakfasts, lunches, dinners and receptions that have brought in at least $100 million to Republican candidates and the party itself, running well ahead of the former records set by President Clinton.

The political activity will make for a crowded fall calendar.

Bush is pressing Congress to complete its work on the federal budget by the end of September while remaining within his spending guidelines, fighting for his plan to create a Department of Homeland Security, and wrestling with a struggling economy.

On the diplomatic front, he will be trying to keep the allied coalition in line in the campaign against terrorism, and presiding over the debate within his administration, as well as the growing international debate, over how to respond to what the White House sees as Saddam Hussein’s dangerous program to develop weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

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Mexico Trip Planned

He has at least one foreign trip on his calendar: a visit to Mexico at the end of October for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He will precede that with a trip to his ranch with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

If the past is prelude, Bush will combine many of the items on his agenda into his travel.

On Wednesday and Thursday, for example, he raised nearly $2 million for Republican gubernatorial candidates in Wisconsin and Iowa while delivering five speeches. He exercised Clinton-like enthusiasm for the spoken word, talking more than 2 1/2 hours, as he called on Congress to support his homeland security plan and sought to calm jitters over the economy.

It will be more of the same this week. On Thursday, he will leave his 1,600-acre ranch for a three-day West Coast swing, including three fund-raising parties in less than 24 hours for Simon in Stockton, Dana Point and Westwood.

Bush, who is emerging from the isolation of his ranch every few days to draw attention to specific issues on his agenda, used his weekly radio speech Saturday to draw a line for Congress over spending. He suggested that the Senate, in particular, was putting the nation’s economy at risk by not adhering to his budget restrictions--an argument he is expected to make repeatedly in coming weeks.

“We must remember the lessons of the past. In the 1960s, increased spending required by war was not balanced by slower spending in the rest of the government. As a result, in the 1970s we faced unemployment and growing deficits and spiraling inflation,” Bush said. “We cannot go down the path of soaring budget deficits.”