Burgettstown in the spotlight

Today, the day before the presidential election, President Bush made a campaign stop in Burgettstown, PA. Unbelievable! He stopped at the Post-Gazette Pavilion, formerly known as Star Lake Ampitheater. Burgettstown is where I lived until I was 6 years old, its where my parents grew up and its where I was married. I was surprised to learn that Bush would pick Burgettstown as a campagin stop. Of course, he wouldn't have gone into the town proper, which is a dreary picture of boarded up shops. Burgettstown is, and has been for some time, an icon for a bad economy. Nevertheless, Bush took advantage of the location at the Post-Gazette Pavilion, which is only a few miles from neighboring West Virginia and Ohio, also swing states in tomorrow's election.

I wonder what it would be like to attend a Bush rally. I've read that attndees must swear an oath of allegiance to the President to be allowed into the rally. I don't know if this is true or not. I suspect that it is, but I hope that its not. I have read that the Bush campaign likes to shelter Bush and Cheney from people with contradicting views. The campaign operatives ensconce their candidates in a veil of Republican partisanship. This makes one wonder what Bush means when he claims that he is a "uniter, not a divider." I don't even think he makes this claim anymore, but it was a large part of his 2000 campaign.

In any case, good for Burgettstown! I hope the short stop from the Presdient helped the local economy for a day.

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