THE BUSH WATCH

LAST WEEK: The tone of the Guv's race became more frenzied as he held three "Victory Tour" rallies a day in large venues, followed around by a United Nations entourage of reporters and camerapeople. They were interested in his presidential aspirations; he, in getting out the GOP vote and praising his state running-mates. Monday, Laredo; Tuesday, Lubbock; Wednesday, College Station; Thursday, El Paso; Friday, Texarkana; Saturday, Corpus Christi; Sunday, he ran in a 5k charity race in Austin. 11/2

HIS PAST WEEK.Monday he was checking out a charter school in Houston and Wednesday found him looking into a welfare center in Dallas. On Tuesday and Thursday he wore his blue governor's jacket as he toured the flooded counties in southcentral Texas. He asked for and got federal financial assistance from Clinton. While in Corpus on Thursday, he did manage to tell a reporter that he would not run for a third-term as governor. "Asked point-blank if the only other campaign he might mount after this year would be for president, Bush said, 'Yeah.' " (AAS,10/23) 10/25

HIS PAST WEEK.Other than a couple low-key whistle stops in Houston and other populated areas this week, the Guv was holed up with his handlers, going over answers and staging a mock debate. The actual dabate came off Friday amid fears by the Bush camp that Mauro would flake out and "start lobbing verbal hand granades." George said he would be "respecful" and hoped that Garry would follow suit.(AAs,10/15) Ironically, it turned out that Bush dised Mauro and the debate rules, addressing questions directly to Garry on a number of occasions, leading the Dem to request that George follow the agreed-upon rules. 10/18

HIS PAST WEEK.Lately, the Guv's schedule has been to make big media appearances on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then drop below radar for the rest of the week. Probably planning his presidential run and making more of those neat docu-dramas that are now appearing on his campaign site. Anyway, this past Monday he was interviewd in San Antonio by the "Express-News," on Tuesday he was in Houston complaining about Mauro's proposed budget, and Wednesday found him avoiding another contingent of Mexican officials who came to Austin to just say "no" to his West Texas nuclear dump site. He was probably in Dallas on Saturday at the UT-OU game, but hiding out in the box of one wealthy business associate or another. Just a guess.10/10

HIS PAST WEEK.Apart from watching his baseball team lose three straight playoff games to the Yankees, on Monday the Guv went to Houston to get the backing of the TASA, proposed new welfare rules on Tuesday that the Center for Public Policy Priorities called "unfair to children," did a photo-op at a Fort Worth Goodwill center on Wednesday, and met with the Mexican Secretary of Energy at the Governor's Mansion on Thursday, where the visitor was "concerned about the safty of the citizens along the boarder." (AP, 10/2) Bush said he "assured him...(that the nuclear dump site)...will not be built unless it's deemed to be safe," but did not explain who will do the deeming. 10/4

Bush began the week in West Texas discussing property taxes, flew from San Antonio to Corpus to Harlingen to El Paso on Wednesday, celebrating Diez y Seis, did a "Statesman" interview in Austin later in the week, and finished up at a Denton County rally. 9/20

The Guv led a Jacees Labor Day parade in the Dallas suburbs on Monday, did a Northeast Texas whistle stop by bus on Tuesday, returned to Austin for press conferences and photo ops on Wednesday and Thursday, did a GOP candidates coattail tour on Friday in Dallas featuring the Four Horsepersons of the Appocalypse (Gramm, Hutchison, Perry, and Cornyn), and attended a Diez y Seis parade in San Antonio on Saturday. Sunday, he read about himself in the "New York Times Magazine." 9/l3

If it's Tuesday, it must be a gubernatorial fund-raiser in Chicago, and then off to Georgia for more of the same where he said his mind was on his re-election campaign in Texas, but, just the same, he moved on to Arizona and then to Colorado, and finally came down to earth at the end of the week in a family drug store in South Austin, where he neglected to announce that his largest proposed tax break will not be for over-the-counter drugs, but for research and development. Austex, 9/7

The Guv began his week telling Houston grade-schoolers that he was still just thinking about running for President. (The kids don't yet understand dad-speak.) Tuesday he said the same thing (nudge-nudge, wink-wink) to GOP adults at a fund raiser in South Carolina, leading Mauro to check his map of Texas. Wednesday he was down in the valley comforting Del Rio flood victims. Thursday he Bushwacked Beeville, Sinton, and Fulton--they are in Texas. Saturday he attended a "Victory '98" fundraiser in Austin, and on the seventh day he relaxed. 8/30

On Monday the Guv was in Dallas and was attacked by Clinton apologists for "tasteless, untimely" remarks, on Tuesday and Friday he hit the hustings to walk the tightrope between his "family man" present and his "playboy" past, his TV ad campaign kicked into gear, his "Bush98" web site started up, and his campaign to earn the black vote was publicized. 8/23

Democrats welcomed Bush back from a two week Maine vacation and reminded him of the state emergency, so he went to Round Rock for a photo-op with out-of-state firefighters. Meanwhile, while opponent Garry Mauro continues his door-to-door grassroots campaign in the wilting heat of a Texas August, the Bush people begin their TV ad blitz. Also, is trouble brewing in the office of the Governor? (See "His Campaign") Austex, 8/l7

While the cat's away on vacation at the family compound in Maine, the mice, namly spinmeisters Karen Hughes and Mindy Tucker, are at play, refusing to be specific about Mauro's call for a debate, furnishing old sound bites defending the Guv from Garry's ongoing pollution and environment attacks, and assuring the press that Bush has never been interested in organized summer meetings with the nation's governors, so his non-visit to Milwaukee was business as usual. 8/9

"Where's George?" That's what we're saying this week, since he's moved off public radar screens, leaving his minions to deal with any problems that come up, such as his continuing support of radioactive dumpsites in Texas. (See "His Campaign" and "His Rivals") That's also what The Colition of Texans with Disabilities are asking, wondering why he has failed to forcefully promote their needs. 8/2, Austex

W. sent an edited electronic copy of his campaign donor list to the Texas Ethics Commission, met with state agencies to oversee heat and drought emergency responses, and continued touring county courthouses to underline his renovation proposal, while Mauro visited the Houston area, keeping to his plan to walk from door-to-door in 5 towns/city neighborhoods each day through August. 7/ 26, Austex

He asked the feds to give drought status to the entire state, spoke to the Sheriff's Association of Texas, and continues fund-raising efforts to stave off "an all-out assult on the Governor." Campaign finance reports this week show Bush with $l3 million on hand to fight off Mauro's anticipated $22l,659 campaign attack. 7/ l9

He defended his radioactive Sierra Blanco site in the face of a state hearing board's rejection of it, debated educational goals with Garry Mauro at the TCTA's convention, and went to Houston to pick up the endorsement of former mayor Bob Lanier. 7/ 12

He spoke at the convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens where he said he was for bilingual education if tests show it works and spent the 4th in Coirpus Christi at a "Stars and Stripes" celebration.7/5

He reappointed 6 non-HIV disability experts to the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities, commuted the death sentence of Henry Lee Lucas to life, and met with 9 governors and Mexican Secretary of State Alberto Gonzeles at the Border Governors Conference in Brownsville. 6/ 27, Austex

He appeared at a fund raiser in North Carolina for Senate ultra-conservative Lauch Faircloth, attended two fund-raisers in Washington organized by his sisters and his father's former Washington political operatives , and then moved on to Denver and Albuquerque for more of the same. (See "His Campaign") 6/ 2l/ 98

He headed up a group that sold the Texas Rangers for $250 million,personally making $l5 million on a l989 2% investment of $605,000, he's asked the Feds for funds for drought damage, he answered those who accused him of taking "dirty money" for "dirty air, and he gave a speech to the GOP's in Fort Worth. 6/ l4/ 98

The Guv is polishing up his speech making skills at local events and getting ready for his Washington fund-raiser on the l8th where he will pick up more money he doesen't need for his gubernatorial run. 6/ 8/ 98

He's continuing his anti-gambling stand against the Tiguas and his pro-nuclear dumpsite stand against nearby Sierra Blanca. Meanwhile, on the cancer front, he continued to get in the way of the previously accepted Texas $l5.3 million tobacco settlement with the butt makers. (For specifics, see "The Bush League" below.) 6/ 3/ 98

The Guv went to Ohio to help Bob Taft raise campaign cash for his run for state governor under the GOP banner. Also, he continued his fight against the Tigua Indian tribe. He thinks their casino operation is illegal. 5/24/98, AAS