ASSOCIATED PRESS
George W. Bush: The president can expect to hear from Lingle on recognition for Hawaiians
Bush will attend
isle fund-raiser
at HiltonThe short stay Oct. 23 will
be on the way back from Asia
President George W. Bush's quick stop in the islands on the way back from an Asian and Australian trip later this month will include a fund-raising appearance at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
STAR-BULLETIN FILE / OCTOBER 1990
In 1990, then-President George H.W. Bush waved to the crowd at Hickam Air Force Base before boarding Air Force One on his way back to Washington, D.C. Now his son, President George W. Bush, is scheduled for a Hawaii stopover on Oct. 23.
He is expected to hold the fund-raiser at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23. It is his first presidential visit to the islands.
Bush will attend an economic conference in Thailand Oct. 20-21 and has planned trips in Asia before and after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
He will be in Japan Oct. 17-18 and also plans a short stopover in the Philippines, according to the White House.
After the conference, Bush is expected to stop in Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
Before the trip, Bush will make two fund-raising stops in California in addition to the one in Honolulu on the way back.
The details of the Hawaii visit have not been announced yet, but Gov. Linda Lingle talked with White House officials yesterday about the journey.
She said she will press two issues with Bush.
"I will talk to the president about Hawaii's role in the Asian-Pacific community ... and I will talk about federal recognition for native Hawaiians," Lingle said.
The White House pays for the official part of the Bush travel expenses, but the Bush-Cheney campaign committee is billed for the portion of the trip devoted to politics and campaigning, according to White House policy.
So far, the Republican president's campaign has not devoted much effort to launching a local re-election campaign.
Brennon Morioka, chairman of the Hawaii GOP, said the president's campaign doesn't expect to appoint a local coordinator until sometime next year.
In the 2000 presidential election, Bush received 138,000 votes in Hawaii to former Vice President Al Gore's 205,000 votes.
