Jan 30, 2008 9:48 pm US/Pacific
Bush Vists Bay Area To Honor Student, Raise Cash
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
President Bush came to the Bay Area Wednesday, for his first visit here since 2004, to raise money for Republicans and give a San Francisco teen an award for volunteer service.
After Air Force One landed at San Francisco International Airport about 4:30 p.m., Bush shook hands and posed for photographers with 18-year old Richard Berwick, who was presented with the President's Volunteer Service Award.
The senior at San Francisco's Lowell High School received the recognition for his work with Building with Books -- an organization that builds schoolhouses in poor communities around the world.
Berwick said he was overwhelmed by the experience of meeting the president and hoped people "will look at this and say, 'I should go out and volunteer and do service as well.'"
Berwick traveled with other Building with Books volunteers in April 2007 to Mali, Africa, where he spent two weeks helping to build a schoolhouse in a rural village, according to White House officials.
The president also met with Kevin Laue, who plays basketball at Amador Valley High School despite having just one arm as the result of a birth defect.
"Awesome," was how Laue described his meeting with Bush. The president also signed the 2007 Super Bowl edition of Sports Illustrated, which featured a story about Laue.
The president ended his Bay Area visit by attending a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner in Hillsborough and meeting with the family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq just before taking off again on Air Force One about 8 p.m.
Earlier Wednesday, the president pressured Congress to jump-start the economy and pass free trade deals with U.S. allies during a brief stop in Southern California.
Bush's push to get Congress to pass an economic stimulus package was fueled by Wednesday's report that the Gross Domestic Product in the final quarter of last year rose only 0.6 percent, half the pace economists expected.
"There are signs that our economy is slowing. There's some uncertainty in the economy," Bush told workers at Robinson Helicopter Co. in the Los Angeles area.
But he fended off fears of recession.
"In the long run, you've got to be confident about your economy," Bush said against a backdrop of red, orange and yellow helicopters polished to a high shine. "Inflation is down. Interest rates are low. Productivity is high. Our economy is flexible. It is resilient."
Bush praised the House for passing a $146 billion stimulus package, which has hit snags in the Senate.
"If you're truly interested in dealing with the slowdown of the economy, the Senate ought to accept the House package, pass it and get it to my desk as soon as possible," he said.
But the president's popularity is sagging, and the rise of Sen. John McCain's profile after his victory in Tuesday's Florida GOP primary coupled with Rudy Giuliani's exit from the presidential race only underscores Bush's declining influence.
Yet, the two-term president remains the top moneymaker of the GOP. He is raking in at least $4.7 million for Republicans in the current three-day swing through California, Nevada, Colorado and Missouri while highlighting themes of his State of the Union address.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
