BUSH IN OHIO Praise for ex-convict shocks her victim

A doctor was part of another mixup when Bush came to Youngstown.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A woman President Bush praised this week for turning her life around with the help of a social-services agency still owes at least $300,000 to a company she was convicted of stealing from, according to court records and the business owner.
Susan Morin, owner of Gorman's Supply Inc. in suburban Cincinnati, said she was stunned to see Tami Jordan appear with Bush on television Monday.
Morin's company had employed Jordan, 35, as a bookkeeper before Jordan was convicted of theft and forgery and received a three-year prison term in 2000 for having embezzled more than $300,000 from the company, according to court and prison records.
Morin's company obtained a civil court judgment in 2000 against Tami Jordan and her husband, Bruce -- also convicted in the case -- for a total of $308,765.
During a visit Monday, Bush praised Jordan as a "good soul" and an "inspirational person" who was making the best of a second chance in overcoming a mistake that landed her in prison.
The president was visiting the Talbert House, a Cincinnati social-service agency that helps former convicts readjust after their incarceration, to promote the benefits of healthy marriages and aid to former criminal offenders.
White House spokesman Jim Morrell said people who meet with Bush on such visits undergo screening, but Morrell declined to explain the process.
It isn't the first misunderstanding involving a Bush visit to Ohio.
Youngstown appearance
When Bush visited Youngstown on May 25 to discuss health care, he used Dr. Compton Girdharry as an example of doctors being driven out of business by medical malpractice insurance costs that are rising because of lawsuits. Bush was there promoting his five-year goal of opening or expanding 1,200 community health centers.
But Girdharry, a gynecologist who recently took a job at a community health center in Alliance, has settled several malpractice lawsuits over the past decade, agreeing to pay damages in cases, including one in which a child he delivered later died from injuries suffered at birth.
During the Youngstown appearance, Girdharry introduced himself to the audience and said he was forced out of a 21-year private practice because of the rising cost of malpractice insurance.
Bush then interrupted him.
"Let me stop you there. You hear me talk about the need for medical liability reform. You need to do it in Ohio. We need to do it in Washington," Bush said, receiving applause.
Doctor's reaction
Girdharry said Thursday that he had been expecting to talk about his new job at a government-run community health care center, not malpractice insurance.
"I didn't get the impression they were using me that way," Girdharry said. "I thought the reason I was there is because of the opening of the clinic."
Girdharry said although he believes malpractice insurance premiums are more than doctors can afford, he didn't want to be Bush's example of the need for reform. Girdharry said he has been involved in 10 malpractice lawsuits that each cost $20,000 to $30,000 to defend.