Bush steps up campaign activity as Election Day nears

President Bush during the coming days is stepping up his campaigning for Republican candidates, making at least six appearances through the end of next week with more possibly to be added.

The president has done far fewer public events with GOP candidates during the current campaign cycle than he did during the midterm elections in 2002, when his popularity was much higher. The White House says campaign finance laws enacted since then have made it tougher to stage open political rallies.

"It's more difficult to organize rallies because, for the locals, they're quite expensive," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said. "You have to pay -- you have to defray all the traveling costs."

Bush will travel Saturday to a campaign rally in Sellersburg, Ind., in the district of GOP Rep. Mike Sodrel, and then move on to Charleston, S.C., for a "greeting with the troops," Snow said. The president Saturday will also host a Republican National Committee fundraiser in Kiawah Island, S.C., a private event that Snow said would be Bush's last campaign appearance closed to the press.

Bush next week will hold two rallies in Georgia, appearing Monday in Statesboro, a part of the 12th District where the GOP candidate is former Rep. Max Burns, and Tuesday in Perry, in the 3rd District represented by GOP Rep. Lynn Westmoreland.

Bush Monday will also travel to Sugar Land, Texas, for a rally in the district of former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. On Thursday, he will join rallies in Billings, Mont., for embattled GOP Sen. Conrad Burns, and in Elko, Nev., a part of the state' 2nd District where Republican Dean Heller is facing off against Democrat Jill Derby. Events during the following handful of days before Election Day are still being nailed down.

On Monday, First Lady Laura Bush will lead rallies in Pittsburgh -- the home of another embattled GOP senator, Sen. Rick Santorum -- and Manchester, N.H. In addition to his appearances, Bush on Friday will do a series of interviews with regional television media. Saturday's radio address will be devoted to taxes and the economy, issues Republicans are seeking to emphasize during the campaign.

"The president is going to use the time between now and the election to continue clarifying the differences between the two parties on key issues," Snow said, pointing in particular to the economy and the war on terror.

Meanwhile, Republicans got some unwelcome news on the economy Friday as the Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product had grown at a sluggish 1.6 percent rate during the third quarter, as the economy was dragged down by the struggling housing sector. The third quarter number was below expectations and the worst showing for the economy in more than three years.

The administration predictably downplayed the news, as top officials said the economy's fundamentals remain strong and noted that energy prices are on their way down. "Everybody expected this," said Snow. During an appearance on CNBC Friday, Treasury Secretary Paulson said, "I believe that the correction in the retail housing sector took about 1 percent off of this growth level of this quarter."