Lingle making trip to
see presidential debate

Gov. Linda Lingle will attend the third presidential debate, to be held Wednesday in Tempe, Ariz.

Lingle is expected to leave Honolulu on Tuesday, according to Lenny Klompus, her senior communications adviser.

The debate, which is to be on economic affairs and domestic policy issues, will be held at Arizona State University. It will be moderated by Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent.

Lingle was one of several Republican governors who were invited to attend the third debate between President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry, according to Klompus.

Nearly 1,000 media representatives from the United States and around the world are expected to cover the debate, according to ASU officials. The media will watch the event in a special media center to be constructed for the debate.

In September, Lingle said she would help President Bush's re-election effort both in Hawaii and on the mainland. It is not known if Lingle will be making any other trips outside Hawaii to help the Bush campaign.

During the GOP national convention in August, Lingle called attention to Hawaii's economic turnaround, which she said was partially due to the federal tax breaks pushed by Bush.

In February, Lingle was one of six state governors invited by the White House to tour Iraq. She spent two days in the country and returned to say she would campaign strongly for the U.S. war effort there. Lingle has also been an advocate of Bush's position to remain in Iraq.

Lingle will use vacation time and pay for the trip herself, according to the Governor's Office.