Bush's bus tour will stop in 4 Ohio cities

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's bus tour in the Midwest next week will include stops at four Ohio cities, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday.
On Monday, Bush will visit two cities in Michigan, a state he narrowly lost in 2000, before heading to Ohio, a state he wants to win again this year.
Bush will attend a pancake breakfast in Perrysburg, Ohio, which is just south of Toledo, on Tuesday and then do an "Ask President Bush" event in Dayton that campaign spokesman Kevin Madden described as "a conversation with the public about issues."
"The president will discuss his policies for strengthening the economy, making our communities better and keeping America safe," Madden said, adding that the bus tour will be focused on "the strength, optimism and resolve of the American people."
Later on Tuesday, Bush will speak at the Golden Lamb Inn in Lebanon and at a rally in Cincinnati before returning to Washington that night, McClellan said. The inn is owned by the family of Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a staunch Bush supporter who served as a White House congressional liaison during the term of former President Bush.
It will be Bush's 16th visit to Ohio since becoming president.
The president's planned trip follows Democrat rival John Kerry's four-day bus trip this week through Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. All four states are up for grabs in the presidential race.
Ohio and Michigan were close calls in the 2000 presidential race. Bush won Ohio by 3.6 percentage points; Democrat Al Gore narrowly won Michigan.