Bush on Blackwell

You may have already bought State of Denial, the new book by Bob Woodward on the Bush White House and the Iraq war, but chances are you haven't gotten to page 347 yet.

You might want to flip ahead.

There, Woodward describes election night 2004 in the White House, with a cigar-chomping Bush nervously waiting the results with Karl Rove, his political guru.

They were waiting for a statement from Ken Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, declaring the Ohio election over and Bush the winner.

According to Woodward, the president was a little hot under the collar and let loose:

"I am the president of the United States,'' Woodward quotes Bush as saying, "waiting on a secretary of state who is a nut.''

Many Ohio Democrats have thought so all along, but it is sort of jaring to see it coming out of the mouth of a Republican president.

Blackwell's gubernatorial campaign was shrugging off the quote Monday.

"It must have been a pretty tense time at the White House,'' said Blackwell campaign spokesman Carlo LoParo. "I don't know what the president said or even if he said it.''

During that campaign, LoParo said, the Bush/Cheney campaign was not very pleased with Blackwell, especially after he ruled independent Ralph Nader off the Ohio ballot, which was thought to be a big boon to John Kerry.

LoParo pointed out that Bush, even though he may have called Blackwell a "nut," thought enough of him to come to Ohio in August and raise $1.5 million for Blackwell's gubernatorial campaign.