Is Bush Looking For a Job in Dallas?

Here's the scoop from a friend in Dallas.

In one of his first outings in Dallas since leaving the White House, former President Bush made a surprise appearance at a hardware store Saturday and joked, "I'm looking for a job."

Bush was responding to an open letter to him from the store's manager inviting him to consider a position as a part-time greeter.

Kyle Walters, president and CEO of Elliot's Hardware, wrote in a letter published in The Dallas Morning News on Feb. 5 that the position of greeter would offer Bush several perks, including a flexible schedule to allow him to travel to Crawford, an opportunity for him to maintain his people skills, ample parking -- including space for his security detail -- and an employee discount for any projects Bush many have on the "Honey-Do" list.

Bush has not accepted the position, but he spent about an hour browsing the aisles and purchased batteries, flashlights and WD-40, the store said in a news release.

"We are thrilled Mr. Bush was able to stop and get a few items for his new home," Andrea Bond, a spokeswoman for Elliot's Hardware, said.

Heinrich All Smiles After New Poll Shows Him Surging.

Martin Heinrich appeared relaxed and confident as he greeted me with a smile and a handshake Wednesday afternoon. I soon learned why he was so cheerful during this lunchtime AUDIO INTERVIEW at his campaign headquarters.

Greenburg Quinlan Rosner Research, a Washington-based group, also used by Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish’s gubernatorial campaign, published their polling results showing Heinrich surging.

The poll shows Heinrich leading Republican candidate Darren White by three percentage points, 47-44, well within the 4.4 percentage points margin of error. The findings are based on a survey of 518 voters and was conducted June 29^th to July 2^nd. If accurate, Heinrich’s small lead is remarkable! Last fall a Washington, D.C. Newspaper labeled White as “untouchable” when a poll by Roll Call showed White with a 17 percentage point lead, 51-33.

Already a leading fundraiser on Act Blue Heinrich hopes to parlay the latest poll results into additional donations for his campaign’s war chest. He told me he spent more than $850,000 in the primary and expects to spend double that this fall.

Barbara Wold at Democracy for New Mexico reported that “Heinrich actually raised almost $100,000 in the campaign's one-and-a-half week end of quarter push that started with a $35,000 goal -- showing the strong support he's getting from the grassroots-netroots. Since his campaign fundraising began on ActBlue's website, supporters have donated a total of $305,781 to Heinrich there.

Wold writes:

Heinrich will need every penny as the general election cycle heats up. Heinrich's opponent, Darren White, has already received about $300,000 from a George Bush fundraiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, and another sizeable take at this past weekend's fundraiser hosted by outgoing NM-01 Rep. Heather Wilson. Because this is one of the premier races in the nation and the GOP would love to hang onto the seat, expect money to gush in from all the usual Republican suspects.

This weekend, Heinrich is one of a few dozen candidates who has been invited to attend the 2008 Speaker's Issues Conference hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Northern California. Barbara Armijo at the NM Independent reports the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is organizing the conference. Many Democratic heavy hitters are expected to participate.

During his brief AUDIO INTERVIEW, Heinrich told me he’s passionate about the issues and that his experience on the Albuquerque City Council taught him how to work with people he disagrees with to reach bi-partisan solutions.

Photo Credits: MG Bralley