Bush Launches Charm Offensive in Bid to Woo Skeptical Democrats

By Edwin Chen and Laura Litvan

May 25 (Bloomberg) -- The meal was fit for a queen: caviar, Dover sole almondine and spring lamb. The setting was no less impressive: the upstairs residence of the White House, with its unrivaled vista of the National Mall.

``It's not Crawford,'' President George W. Bush told his guests, referring to the dusty central Texas town where he owns a ranch. ``But if you can't be in Texas, what a view!''

As Representative Chet Edwards, a Texas Democrat, admired the scenery, he said later, he was struck by his presence at the April 17 dinner -- his first such invitation from Bush.

Only 20 months before the end of his term, Bush has begun a cross-party charm offensive that many had expected at the dawn rather than the twilight of his presidency. His aim is to make bipartisan progress on a few big issues -- such as an overhaul of immigration laws -- before he leaves office.

Bush's success will depend on whether long-neglected Democrats, now the majority in Congress, can set aside their conviction that he is acting out of political expedience. Since he first took office in 2001, the president has relied almost exclusively on Republicans, who controlled Congress until this year.

``If he'd reached out more than he did in the past six years, when he didn't need us, I think it would be a little more genuine, a little more believable and a little more helpful to him,'' said Arkansas Representative Mike Ross, co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of self-described conservative Democrats. Ross was among 14 House Democrats who met with Bush on May 8.

`Late in the Day'

``It's pretty late in the day,'' said Senator Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat and the Budget Committee chairman. ``I don't think it's going to make a difference.''

Top White House aides acknowledge that the new political reality of Democratic control is driving Bush's courtship, which features visits to the living quarters and small-group dinners like the one attended by Edwards, four other lawmakers and their spouses.

``In the aftermath of the elections, there was both a desire and a necessity to reach out more aggressively,'' said White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten.

As evidence that Bush's personal touch is bearing fruit, Bolten, 52, cites recent agreements between the White House and congressional leaders on immigration and trade accords with Peru and Panama. ``There's no better example than the immigration bill,'' Bolten said.

Bonhomie

Bush, 60, convened the May 8 meeting with moderate Democrats in the White House family quarters, where he's holding many sessions with lawmakers. Attendees typically gather in the Yellow Oval Room, an informal sitting and entertainment area that opens onto the Truman Balcony. Bush conducts some of the meetings after-hours, to foster bonhomie.

``The president talks a little bit and then he just opens it up,'' Bolten said of the gatherings.

Among the topics at the May 8 meeting were funding for the Iraq war, education and energy, said Ross, 45. While Bush failed to change any minds on Iraq, he impressed many with his ardor, Ross said: ``He was speaking from the heart.''

The April 17 dinner also began with social niceties. First Bush and his wife, Laura, led a half-hour tour of the Truman Balcony and the Lincoln Bedroom for Edwards and Democratic Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, along with Mississippi Republican Senator Trent Lott and Republican Representatives Jim McCrery of Louisiana and Eric Cantor of Virginia.

A Preview

As they sat down for dinner, the first couple told their guests they were being treated to a preview of the May 7 state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II.

``They told us: `If there's anything you don't like, please let us know now,''' said Edwards, 55.

Well into the dinner, the president began a discussion about immigration overhaul with Salazar, a participant in the Senate negotiations to find a bipartisan compromise.

Many lawmakers, Edwards among them, have left the executive mansion wondering why Bush waited this long to begin courting Democrats, an art he honed during six years as Texas governor.

One answer comes from veteran Texas Representative Elliott Naishtat, an Austin Democrat who once found himself on the receiving end of a playful headlock Governor Bush applied as a way of initiating a discussion about their differences on welfare policy.

No Choice

``He didn't have a choice,'' Naishtat said. ``He had to reach out because Democrats were in control'' of the Texas legislature.

Throughout his first White House campaign, Bush vowed to take to Washington the ``spirit of cooperation'' he had nurtured in Austin with the late Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock and then-House Speaker Pete Laney, both Democrats.

Laney, now retired, said he believed Bush was sincere, even if he didn't fully follow through. ``It looks like he got overruled by his political operatives,'' Laney said.

Bitterness over the disputed 2000 election foiled Bush's outreach efforts to Democrats, said former Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a lifelong Bush friend. ``Politics began to kind of trump people working together.''

While Bush conferred with Democratic leaders many times throughout his first term, most of those sessions came with structured agendas that allowed little opportunity for socializing.

A Departure

With last November's election results, Bush now targets more Democrats than Republicans for private meetings, -- a departure from before, said Candida Wolff, the White House legislative-affairs director.

Wolff said she and her staff typically choose guests with an eye toward the issues of the day. She wouldn't say how many sessions have taken place in recent months or identify the participants. ``Some people don't want it known that they've been down to the White House,'' she said.

On May 17, Wolff brought almost 40 lawmakers from both parties to the Yellow Oval Room for an informal evening. ``To watch the president in that setting is to see him at his best: a likable, engaging person with an extremely gracious wife as his partner,'' Edwards said.

Others say Bush needs more than a charm offensive. ``Reaching out makes sense,'' said Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat. ``But it depends on if there's a true exchange of ideas and views.''

Encouraged by the generally positive reviews from Capitol Hill, Wolff said Bush is ``stepping up'' more informal outreach and including rank-and-file Democrats.

``I hope he's reverting to how he operated in Texas,'' Representative Gene Green, 59, a Texas Democrat, said after visiting Bush this month. ``The sad part is, with less than two years left in his term, he decides to reach out.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at echen32@bloomberg.net ; Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 25, 2007 00:13 EDT

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