Oh, I know I've seen this kind of thing before. It'll come to me. Uh...hmmm. Well, here's the story.
A Chance to 'Ask the President'
Bush uses folksy format to field friendly crowds' questions that are easier to answer than many.
"Ask the president" events are nothing like the high-pressure, sometime contentious news conferences that Bush occasionally conducts at the White House. By contrast, Bush's aides try to ensure he will stand before a friendly audience at campaign events.
Tickets to the event in Fond du Lac, attended by about 1,000 people, were handed out by the local Republican Party and the Bush campaign, said Paul Kiser, an area homebuilder and a campaign volunteer.
Organizers of a Bush rally in Duluth, Minn., a day earlier had turned away Democrats and independents who acknowledged they were not sure they would vote for Bush, the Duluth News Tribune reported.
As the sometimes jocular give-and-take showed here Wednesday, the "ask the president" format gives Bush an opportunity to respond to questions usually framed in a positive manner.
"Wondering if you can tell us all here the importance of the Patriot Act and what we can do to help get that renewed," one man asked, referring to the controversial anti-terrorism law passed after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
"As a compassionate conservative, I'd like to get your views and your vision on how to work with the social culture and lead that inner city into a brighter future," queried another.
One woman asked: "What can all of us here do to help you and [Vice President] Dick Cheney be sure to be reelected?"
*SNAP* Bush's press conferences! That's what they've been called for the last three years.
