The official White House pool report

CONNECTICUT-OHIO OUT-IN-THE-OPEN FUNDRAISING TOUR
(Note new name, per grumbling from certain White House staffers)
POOL REPORT NUMBER THREE
September 25, 2006

Senator Mike DeWine was first in line to greet POTUS as AF1 arrived at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport. The senator gave Mr. Bush a hearty handshake and clap on the back, then boarded the limo with Karl Rove for the 30-minute drive to Meyer Tool Inc., which makes gas turbine engines for military, commercial land private aircrafts. The cavernous warehouse was a clean, well-lighted – and eerily quiet – place. There was a general hum in the air, enough so we could hear nothing of POTUS’ comments, but the machines had been turned off for the visit. DeWine was by the president’s side the entire time. More detail about tour available upon request.

It’s a family owned company; POTUS got a quick tour of various high-tech equipment, then stood in the middle of the factory floor and addressed the pool for two minutes, 27 seconds, emphasizing the importance of his tax cuts. Transcript to follow. The event was billed as “remarks by the president,’’ but the audience consisted solely of the pool. The employees were kept 10 or 20 feet away. One intrepid pooler (not yours truly) tried to shout out a question about the national intelligence estimate but was ignored.

We then headed off to the Indian Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, said to be home of Carl Linder, past owner of the Reds (after Marge Schott, who also used to live here). Lots of nice houses, not as fancy as Greenwich. POTUS is to headline a fundraiser for DeWine and the Ohio GOP

At 5:05 p.m., POTUS arrived at 9300 Shawnee Run Road, owned by John and Eileen Barrett according to a source who shall remain nameless. House is up a steep drive and could not be seen. Your pool is being taken to a country club nearby.

A few additions to the earlier report: The Greenwich fundraiser was for the Connecticut Republican Party. Shays was the only member of Congress present; he had a press conference afterward which your pool, naturally, was unable to attend.

The Frantz home was in Riverside neighborhood of Greenwich. Upon closer inspection, the house, which had five fieldstone chimneys, was actually on a tiny island; we drove over a little bridge to get there. The front faced a small inlet; the back faced the Sound. The circular driveway was ringed with tiny American flags planted in the ground for the president’s arrival.

Travel report:

Motorcade left Greenwich at 1:30 for the 10-minute ride back to the park. Another uneventful chopper ride to JFK; AF1 was airborne for Cincinnati shortly after 2 p.m. and landed at Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky Airport slightly ahead of schedule, at about 3:35 p.m.

Sheryl Stolberg
New York Times