The President's Visit

Amid lawsuits alleging the Bush administration goes too far in trying to thwart protestors, real and potential, at public events, the president plans to spend part of his Fourth of July morning in West Virginia.

The Associated Press story looks at filings in a lawsuit arising from a previous Bush trip to the state for Independence Day: his 2004 appearance at the state Capitol, where a Texas couple was arrested and charged with trespassing (charges later dropped) after refusing to remove or conceal anti-Bush t-shirts.

The key document is a "Presidential Advance Manual." Though heavily redacted, the released excerpts detail a policy for deploying volunteers both to screen event crowds for "potential problems" and to counteract any demonstrations.

The manual also recommends recruiting "rally squads" from such groups as young Republican chapters, fraternities and sororities, and athletic teams.

While relevant to the upcoming stop in Martinsburg, the manual is also news because it has fueled a new lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations. The Texas couple, Nicole and Jeffrey Rank, have joined with a Denver couple who allege similar mistreatment at a 2005 event there to file suit in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The American Civil Liberties Union represents the couples in this latest lawsuit, filed last week, and has posted information about it on its web site.

Bush returns to West Virginia at a time of dismal approval ratings. As pollster.com recently observed:

"The question remains one of how long the current slide can continue. Historically, presidential approval has rarely fallen into the 20s. While some polls are still giving readings in the 30s, the trend remains sharply downward. However, we are now approaching historic lows. "

(This, of course, was before the president commuted the prison term of Scooter Libby.)

But Bush ran strong in Berkeley County in both 2000 (59% of the vote) and 2004 (63%). In fact, he nearly doubled his margin of victory over his Democratic opponent between the two elections (4,822 votes vs. 8,836 votes).

Organizers of tomorrow's visit expect a crowd of about 1,500 from the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia National Guard, their families and some VIPs.