Bush keeps S.F. at bay

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 8/21/5 | Marc Sandalow

[SmithL]

President not expected to return to city after 5-year absence on upcoming trip to California.

Washington -- Presidential visits to San Francisco have been a tradition since Rutherford Hayes lunched at the Cliff House in 1880.

Presidents arrived by stagecoach and jet. One was shot at. Another died. In all, 20 presidents have visited the city, including every chief executive for the past 75 years.

Except George W. Bush.

Now in the fifth year of his presidency, Bush has yet to set a foot in the city that was home to his childhood baseball idol, Willie Mays, and shows no inclination to do so. The White House is planning a California visit by the end of the month, and San Francisco is not on the itinerary.

San Francisco, with roughly three-quarters of a million residents, is the only city among the nation's 25 largest that has not been host for a Bush presidential visit. If he avoids San Francisco for the rest of his term, he will be the first president not to visit since Calvin Coolidge, and only the second in more than a century.

The reason seems plain to even casual observers of American politics.

San Francisco is as politically, culturally and geographically distant from the president as anyplace in America. Eighty-four percent of the city's voters cast ballots against Bush in 2000, and 85 percent voted against him in 2004. The city has voted Democratic in 12 consecutive presidential elections.

"He'd be crazy to come,"

[RippleFire]

They're so excited!

[BobS]

"we need to get all the conservatives and other reds over to the east side of 101 and then just let every one on the west side of 101 secede from the Union...

Agreed. All those coastal mountains create dogshit canyons.

[the_rightside]

I'm beginning to think he is more inept and afraid to deal with situations that demand courage and strong leadership.

The U.S./Mexican border comes to mind.

[NickatNite2003]

Sam FranksDickso is worse than irrelevant, it's
the West Coasts 'Five Points'...There's nothing
inside it's city limits that deserves to
live or be saved.

[BobS]

I haven't even been to an L.A. county beach in 15 years. I always go to Ventura county ones. The water looks like water and the people are nice there.

[ThreePuttinDude]

When I lived in Chicago, we would go to McD's on Sunday morning and buy a bag of EggMcMuffins, and would go out to Halsted & Madison and try to pass them out to the street people. I can't tell you how many times we were told to, "get f'ed, give us some money."

After repeated attempts to feed these people, we decided enough is enough, and we just donated to the Salvation Army.

The majority of those guys were there because they wanted to be there it seems to me.

[ArmyTeach]

True ... and true!

[youthgonewild]

What's next, Salman Rushdie making a visit to Tehran?

[ArmyTeach]

Pleas expand. I'm intrigued. What did you do?

[South40]

Now in the fifth year of his presidency, Bush has yet to set a foot in the city that was home to his childhood baseball idol, Willie Mays, and shows no inclination to do so.

That's just not true. My wife and I saw Air Force One land and taxi on the tarmack at San Francisco's airport in 2003. I read in the paper shortly thereafter that Bush was campaigning in SF. He was definitely there.

The author of this article either has a short memory or he is a liar.

[ArmyTeach]

They only want him there to make him a politial target, which a good reason why he won't go.

[ArmyTeach]

Someone remind me. Has the SF City Council delcared SF a military-free zone. Has SFO done so?

[Windsong]

Linky? :)

[bandleader]

San fran. is EXTREMIST LIB!!!

[South40]

Filmed a Lexus commercial. Click on the pic.

Ever seen Lombard Street covered with snow?

[Paleo Conservative]

On my visit to SF last year I was amazed at all the homeless panhandlers.

Austin, Texas also has a lot of them.

[South40]

Now in the fifth year of his presidency, Bush has yet to set a foot in the city that was home to his childhood baseball idol, Willie Mays, and shows no inclination to do so.

In San Francisco, members of CODEPINK staged a one-hour protest INSIDE the hotel where Bush was holding his fundraiser.

[South40]

On my visit to SF last year I was amazed at all the homeless panhandlers.

Austin, Texas also has a lot of them.

So does San Diego.

[sheik yerbouty]

The Taliwankers, as they are grabassticly inclined, would be given a huge..welcome..

[Kozak]

http://wompedy.com/about/images/election_bush_finger.jpg