Bush picks his battles in friendly country

At his first campaign rally this election season, President Bush on Saturday galvanized supporters in a packed high school gym by pledging to oppose gay marriage, a theme Republican candidates have revived in the wake of a New Jersey court ruling in favor of gay couples.

“Activist judges try to define America by court order,” Bush told the crowd of 4,000 at Silver Creek High School, flanked by Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.), who is running for reelection. “Just this week in New Jersey, another activist court issued a ruling that raises doubt about the institution of marriage. We believe marriage is the union between a man and a woman.”

At that, the raucous crowd went wild, shouting “USA,” stomping their feet and shaking dozens of red, white and blue pompoms.

The New Jersey Supreme Court last week ruled that gay and lesbian couples in that state should have all the rights and benefits of marriage; the justices left it up to legislators to decide whether to call such partnerships marriages or civil unions. Same-sex marriage was a motivating issue for social conservatives in the 2004 election, but has been overshadowed in this year’s campaign by the war in Iraq.

Constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage will be on the ballot in eight states this November, including South Carolina, which Bush visited late Saturday to greet troops and attend a campaign fundraiser outside Charleston.

Bush has appeared at private fundraisers for individual candidates, but now is launching a string of five preelection public rallies in the next four days. He’s speaking out on tax cuts, national security and same-sex marriage while playing to his base of conservative Republicans in such strongholds as Sellersburg, Statesboro, Ga., and Sugar Land, Texas.

With Republican control of Congress at risk, the president’s visits and tone could determine the fate of a handful of close races.

Besieged Republican candidates have distanced themselves from the president in recent debates, TV ads and closed fundraisers as his approval rating remained below 40% this month. It has become increasingly difficult for the party to take advantage of the office of the president, GOP strategists say.

Democrats in Maryland, Missouri and Pennsylvania have launched ads that remind voters of their opponents’ support for Bush.

“Michael Steele: Right for Bush, wrong for Maryland,” says one of the latest TV ads from Democratic Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, which features Lt. Gov. Steele praising Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Steele is challenging Cardin.

On Friday, Democrat Jerry McNerney invited Bush to return to California’s 11th District and campaign for Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), whom the president visited last month, because he “reminds voters that both Bush and Pombo are satisfied with the lack of ethics and integrity in Congress.” McNerney is trying to unseat Pombo.

Bush’s travel schedule was plotted last week based on where he could do the most good for candidates who are in close races in Republican areas, said Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto. Sodrel won his southern Indiana district two years ago by 1,425 of 283,000 votes. The president carried the district that year with 59% of the vote.

“He’s going to tight races where we think his presence can help put a guy over the line,” Fratto said.

The campaign landscape has changed dramatically since the midterm election of 2002, when Bush’s approval rating was 64%. Back then, Bush targeted battleground districts for large, boisterous rallies.

But he has been more low-key this campaign season. At a Thursday fundraising rally in Michigan that brought in $700,000 for the Senate campaign of Mike Bouchard, a catering hall smaller than a high school gymnasium was less than half full.

Bush is to focus on red states during the coming week in the hope of drawing crowds and boosting beleaguered Republican House campaigns in states he won by large margins in 2004.

“That’s where he’s more useful,” said Charles Black, a Republican strategist close to presidential advisor Karl Rove.

In a blue state like Pennsylvania, a presidential visit could hurt Republican Sen. Rick Santorum more than it helps, Black said. The state is home to 600,000 more Democrats than Republicans, voter registration records indicate.

“To win, [Santorum] needs to get all the Republicans and some of the Democrats. Well, the president’s influence is good on the Republicans but could work against him among Democrats, so why put him there?” Black said.

Bush plans to campaign Monday in Sugar Land, where former Rep. Tom DeLay was a political fixture for more than a decade -- more evidence of the degree to which Republicans are struggling. DeLay carried 63% of the vote two years ago and Bush won 64% in 2004. But the former House majority leader abandoned his reelection bid and resigned his seat after former aides pleaded guilty in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.

The president is also scheduled to make repeat visits Monday and Tuesday to two Georgia districts, starting with a rally Monday in Statesboro for Max Burns, a Republican seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. John Barrow.

The district is so Republican, and so pro-Bush, that even Barrow is airing television ads that proclaim: “I agree with George Bush.”

On Thursday, Bush is to hold a rally in Billings, Mont. -- he won the state with 59% of the vote two years ago -- then stop in Nevada.

Bush will probably make 20 stops before election day to help House candidates, possibly in Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and Florida, according to GOP strategist Scott Reed.

“In this phase of the game, it’s about winning a day in the news, and a visit by the president will about guarantee you win the day,” Reed said.

He called Bush’s agenda “a last-minute flurry to limit the losses

molly.hennessy-fiske@

latimes.com

james.gerstenzang@

latimes.com

Hennessy-Fiske reported from Indiana and Gerstenzang from Washington.