corrente

Time to give AP a hug. In an article that appears in Newsday, Scott Findlaw reports on the President's "spontaneous" visit to that Bait 'N Switch shop in Missouri, yesterday.

For real. He tells you what happened, what the administration wants us to think about these trips, and what the actual context is that makes them something less than "spontaneous."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The strip malls, mom-and-pop restaurants and big-box stores are usually just part of the blurred landscape President Bush sees from his limousine when he sweeps into town. For three years, he and his motorcade blew past it all.

But this election year, Bush has taken a sudden interest in the people and places in between the airport and his speech sites.

This was the fourth such stop in the past 2 1/2 weeks.

"It's a good opportunity to visit with Americans and get some good food," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. Or, in Missouri, to get some worms.

The stops do allow Bush to mingle with ordinary citizens, but they are hardly spontaneous. The Secret Service lays the groundwork days in advance, in cooperation with White House officials. The business owners know the president is coming, though the customers at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World didn't.

White House officials strain to recall when Bush last did such an "off-the-record" appearance before the custom abruptly became part of his routine last month. On a couple of occasions, he has dropped by the gas and coffee joint a few miles from his Crawford, Texas, ranch.

But today, nine months before the election, these visits have become a fixture of the president's travels, and a formula has emerged as to how they transpire.

Naturally, the Prez gets lots of free local media, visuals of ordinary guy, Bush, mingling with his people; nor will you be surprised that when it comes to the White House press corps, they're kept out of the loop.

Go read the rest. The advantages of office will be fully used by this administration. And then some. Be afraid, fellow Democrats.

I suppose it's a hopeful sign that at least one AP reporter isn't afraid to go beyond the load of bull being handed out by this suddenly less than entirely popular President. But watch out if his numbers go back up.

Does anyone know if all these trips where he doesn't make an actual appearance at a fund raiser are being payed for by us? Remember when the Repubs made such a fuss about any trips President Clinton took to foreign countries, where there were no votes to be had? Someone on our side should be totalling this all up.