- For small-town American mayors, a visit by a sitting
president is an honour that can only be dreamed of.
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- But not in Iowa, or Pennsylvania, or any of the other
dozen or so deadlocked "swing states" that have November's US
presidential election balanced on a knife-edge.
-
- President George W Bush and his Democratic challenger,
Senator John Kerry, have become such frequent visitors that local authorities
are rebelling en masse. Mr Bush has visited Pennsylvania 32 times since
2001.
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- Instead of rolling out the red carpet, they are totting
up the costs of police overtime, emergency planning and other expenses,
and sending the bill to the two campaigns.
-
- At first, it seemed to work. The Bush campaign sent a
cheque for £780 in part payment of a £6,100 bill to cover a
campaign visit in May to Dubuque, Iowa.
-
- Since then, however, the campaigns have been returning
the bills, or referring inquiries to the US Secret Service, whose policy
is that federal law obliges local police forces to meet the costs.
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- Terry Duggan, mayor of Dubuque, yesterday drew a distinction
between an official presidential visit - which he would be honoured to
pay for - and political campaigning.
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- John Brenner, the mayor of York, sent a bill for £11,570
to the Bush campaign, without success. He said: "If Kerry comes, he'll
get a letter too."
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- ï Mr Bush called last night for an end to negative
commercials, including one that attacks Mr Kerry's Vietnam war record.
-
- Pressed by a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans
for Truth, Mr Bush told reporters that he wanted an end to "that ad
and every other ad".
-
- Asked whether his Democratic rival had lied, as the veterans
allege, Mr Bush said: "I think Senator Kerry served admirably and
he ought to be proud of his record."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2
004/08/24/wus24.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/08/24/ixworld.html
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