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Clinton Fund-Raises for No-Show Rep
By TERENCE HUNT AP White House Correspondent
CHICAGO (AP) -- In an odd political twist, President Clinton campaigned Friday for a
Democratic congressman who skipped his own fund-raiser and hurried to Washington -- to
vote against Clinton's ''fast track'' trade legislation.
Clinton, putting the best light on the situation, had a different reason for Rep. Glenn
Poshard's absence -- although a White House spokesman originally said the fast-track vote
was the cause.
The president said Poshard, running for governor, was in Washington to vote against a
Republican-backed election-year tax cut, which also was before the House.
''I wouldn't have him anywhere else,'' Clinton said. ''If I were a school principal, I would
happily give him an excused absence for this lunch.''
The congressman has spent little time in Washington as he campaigns for governor. Friday's
votes were his first since Congress returned from its August recess.
Whatever the reason, Poshard's absence highlighted the awkward question facing
Democratic candidates less than six weeks before the election: Is it worth having your
picture taken with a scandal-damaged president in exchange for the big campaign
contributions he raises.
Republicans say Democratic candidates are sure to be hurt by Clinton's presence. Some
Democrats say they still want him; others have told the White House they don't want the
president's help. Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening recently canceled an invitation for Clinton
to attend a fund-raiser.
Poshard, in a telephone call to Friday's luncheon, acknowledged the awkwardness of the
situation.
''I know that there will be Republicans who will try to say that because I'm not with you
today in Chicago, that I'm trying to distance myself from you,'' Poshard said. ''Nothing could
be further from the truth. ... I am very proud of your work, I'm proud of your leadership.''
Down in the polls and scrambling for cash, Poshard was expected to collect up to $300,000
from Clinton's appearance.
Chicago was just the first stop on a three-day, three-state fund-raising tour for Clinton in
Illinois, California and Texas.
The president was appearing Friday night at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose to
raise money from Silicon Valley executives, some of his most generous allies.
On Saturday, the president will visit with his daughter, Chelsea, a sophomore at Stanford
University, and then collect campaign funds from trial lawyers, another group loyal to him.
Poshard is one of many Democrats who oppose Clinton on the fast-track trade legislation,
which would strengthen the president's hand to negotiate trade deals with foreign countries.
Democrats complain that American jobs will be lost as U.S. companies move to nations
where labor costs are lower and environmental laws are lax.
Clinton, climbing in opinion polls despite the threat of impeachment, used his appearances to
go on the offensive against Republicans in Congress.
Leaving the White House, he said the GOP was guilty of ''partisanship over progress,
politics over people'' and was ''moving in the wrong direction'' on improving education,
providing affordable child care, expanding health coverage, protecting the environment and
stabilizing the international economy.
He carried that theme to Chicago. ''It's not too late for Congress to put aside the lure of
election year and save Social Security before we spend the surplus,'' the president said.
''Not too late to give all the patients in this country the protection of a patient's bill of rights.''
Sen. Carol Mosely-Braun, also trailing in the polls, appeared with the president Friday in
Chicago and will be with him next month when he returns for a fund-raiser for her.
AP-NY-09-25-98 1635EDT
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