Tales from the Trail

WASHINGTON – While there have been reports of long lines and an occasional problem in states conducting early voting for the 2008 presidential election, one such voter had no problems at all — President George W. Bush.

Bush and his wife Laura voted on Friday using Texas’ early voting process, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

“The ballots will be mailed back to Texas today,” she said, adding that the president and his wife would be at the White House for election night. In the 2002, 2004 and 2006 elections, Bush voted in Crawford, Texas, where he owns a 1,600 acre ranch.

Reporters, not taking anything for granted, peppered Perino with questions about whether Bush did in fact vote for Republican contender John McCain.

“I find this hard to believe but so many reporters have asked just who the president voted for, I guess I have to make it clear — for months the president has said he supports John McCain for president and of course he voted for him,” she replied.

WASHINGTON – Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems to think so. But she is touting Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas, not former presidential candidate John Edwards who twice ran for president and was the Democrats vice presidential candidate in 2004.

For the past few weeks, Pelosi, who will chair the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August, has been talking up the nine-term congressman from central Texas as a possible running-mate for Barack Obama.

She floated the idea to Obama’s vice presidential search team a few weeks ago and again on Tuesday more publicly, at a breakfast with a group of reporters.

DALLAS – It’s tough to think of everybody sometimes.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain held a fundraiser in Dallas on Monday and kicked off his remarks by praising many of the leaders that Texas had produced.

There was Kay Bailey Hutchison, a fellow senator who accompanied McCain on his plane from Washington.

John Tower got a shout-out, as did Phil Gramm, who McCain described as his dearest friend and the smartest senator he had ever known.