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PENSACOLA - President George W. Bush received an embarrassing snub on the eve of elections, arriving at a rally to find the candidate he was supporting had other plans.
Charlie Crist, the Republican candidate for Florida Governor, said he would not attend the rally in the party stronghold of northwest Florida after the White House had already announced he would be introducing the President.
The no-show raised the question whether Crist was trying to avoid being seen with Bush, whose popularity is below 40 per cent as Republicans struggle to retain control of Congress.
While Bush did not refer to the absence at the rally, his political adviser Karl Rove was clearly irritated.
"All I know is that they apparently made a decision that, rather than being with the Governor and the President and 10,000 people in Pensacola, they made a last-minute decision to go to Palm Beach. Let's see how many people show up in Palm Beach on 24 hours' notice versus 8000 or 9000 in Pensacola."
Crist's staff said he was campaigning in more marginal regions in his race against Democrat Jim Davis for the governorship being vacated by Bush's brother, Jeb.
- REUTERS
