Here's the take of the Madison Capital Times:
The Bush campaign swept into town with all the pomp and circumstance - and demands - of a royal tour. Streets were closed. Traffic was diverted. Parks were surrounded with security fences through which only Bush supporters were allowed to pass. Ordinary citizens - and, of course, all who might disagree with the president - were forced to keep their distance.
There was nothing public, or "open," about the Bush visit. It was a closed party organized for the purpose of creating nice images for the national media. And asking the city of La Crosse to pay for the promotion of the president's re-election campaign amounted to a raid on the city treasury for political purposes. While communities have a responsibility to provide basic security for visiting candidates, there is no responsibility to pay for walling off those candidates from the people who live in the town.
La Crosse residents complained about the excessive security associated with the Bush visit. After a review, La Crosse Mayor John Medinger asked the Bush campaign to pay for some of the expenses that were run up during the May visit. After initially dismissing the request, the Bush camp finally acknowledged that it had gone overboard.
My bet is, that while the Bush campaign has paid a minor part of the expenses incurred with this incident, they will make Towns and Cities crawl and beg to get reimbursement for these lovefests where only Bush supporters are allowed. Yet they call themselves tax-cutters, while ordinary American cities which must meet their budgets pay the burden.
Get rid of him.
