Posted on 08/06/2002 12:48:04 PM PDT by McLynnan
Bush comes to town: Waco, Crawford await economic forum, Fox visit
By JASON EMBRY Tribune-Herald staff writer
President Bush today begins a stay in McLennan County that will include an economic forum in Waco and a ranch visit from the president of Mexico.
Bush's ranch near Crawford will be his home base for the next month, as it was last August. Hundreds of Washington staffers and reporters will find temporary homes in Waco hotel rooms.
A CNN/ USA Today /Gallup poll showed that 44 percent of Americans surveyed last week believe four weeks is too much time for Bush to spend at his ranch.That's down from the 55 percent of respondents who said last year that the August stay was too long.
But Bush has several out-of-town trips scheduled for the month. He'll also host the economic forum and Mexican President Vicente Fox before returning to Washington around Labor Day.
About 300 people are expected to attend the Aug. 13 forum at Baylor University, including Cabinet members, workers, economists and ethicists.
The guest list will include some students and faculty from Baylor's business school, Baylor spokesman Larry Brumley said. Session topics will include corporate responsibility, retirement security and technology.
About 500 journalists are expected to cover the forum, crowding nearly every inch of Baylor's McLane Student Life Center. Reporters will sit in racquetball courts to watch video feeds of forum sessions, and at least one cable network, CNBC, plans all-day broadcasts from campus.
Baylor officials expect up to 30 satellite trucks to park there. It's an ideal time for Baylor, Brumley said, because summer classes are over but the fall semester is a couple of weeks away.
"I don't think we could have done this if we had classes in session," he said.
The school expects a greater media onslaught than last November, when it hosted reporters for Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to the Bush ranch. The attention comes as Baylor continues its chase of Bush's presidential library.
"There's no doubt that it's kind of an undercurrent under everything that we do relative to our relationship with the White House," Brumley said. "But even if Baylor wasn't making a bid for the library, this is an incredible opportunity for Baylor University, our students and our faculty."
Waco Police Chief Alberto Melis said he has fielded one inquiry about setting up a protest during the economic forum. Chief Jim Doak of the Baylor Department of Public Safety said protests will not be allowed on campus.
"We respect people's right to voice their opinion," Doak said. "But at the same time, it's private property."
Duane Ediger, communications director at the Dallas Peace Center, said a Crawford rally to protest sanctions and possible military action against Iraq is in the works for the Bush visit. An April event billed in a similar way turned into a largely pro-Palestinian rally that overflowed the bleachers of the Crawford football stadium.
A Crawford ordinance requires demonstrators to request a permit 15 days in advance. Crawford Police Chief Donnie Tidmore had no permit requests as of Monday.
In Crawford, a few stores have gone up since Bush's stay last August. Another store is on the way.
Robinson roofing contractor Bill Johnson hopes to open a new Crawford shop, the Yellow Rose of Texas, within the next 10 days. It's part store, part shrine: Johnson will sell saddles, rifles and jewelry across the room from a Bush tribute painted on a rock wall. The mural will include paintings of his inauguration and the destruction of the World Trade Center, as well as comments Bush made after the attack.
"It's a fact that happened," Johnson said. "I wouldn't want to be insensitive. But it's a reality that we were attacked and we defended ourselves."
Johnson is giving his store a facade that resembles the Alamo, and he plans to put a fake cannon, a wagon and replicas of Davy Crockett and William B. Travis on the roof. He hopes for weekly auctions, and he'd like to give tours that go out to the 120-acre property he owns next to the president's.
"I think this will be a destination point," he said. "A lot of people come to Crawford and complain there's nothing to do. We're going to give them something to do and see."
Crawford school trustees passed a new slate of rules this summer for the reporters who file stories from the school gym. Members of the press must wear badges at the school, and they cannot use the same entrance or restrooms as Crawford students. Metal partitions will be set up at the filing center entrance.
The new rules followed complaints by a Crawford parent who told the school board to "get the press out of our school before a tragedy happens."
Trying to put on a friendlier face for the press, the Crawford Chamber of Commerce will host a "meet the press" barbecue for journalists on Thursday.
"We want to mend any fences that have been torn down in any way," said Cathy Horton, a vendor at a downtown Crawford gift store.
Fox is expected to visit Bush's ranch late in the month, although the White House has not confirmed a specific date. He would be the fourth head of state to visit the ranch since Bush took office.
Liz Carpenter, a former spokeswoman for Lady Bird Johnson, will sign copies of her book Start With a Laugh on Aug. 18 at Crawford Country Style, a downtown store. Valerie Duty, who sells Crawford merchandise online and is arranging the event, said first lady Laura Bush has been invited to attend.
Didn't sleep well, I see? Ya outta just relax a little. (Not you, MM.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.