FAIRMONT— Kimberly Hawkinbeny hoped her red "W" pin would distinguish her in a sea of supporters for first lady Laura Bush, who made an appearance at the Shaw House on Wednesday in support of Delegate Chris Wakim.
Hawkinbeny, home health manager at Fairmont General Hospital, has had the pin since she served as a volunteer during President George W. Bush's inauguration in Washington, D.C., which put her near the first lady and her two daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The pin identified her as a volunteer who had access to guide around friends and family members of the president and his family.
"I've been a supporter since the first President Bush ran against Ronald Reagan," Hawkinbeny said. Of the first lady and the twins, she said, "They're just like Fairmont people. They"re down to earth and very humble."
As a VIP supporter of Wakim, a delegate and Wheeling businessman who is running against incumbent Rep. Alan B. Mollohan of the state's 1st Congressional District, Hawkinbeny hoped to get the chance to actually talk to Bush during a photo op that was available to 50 couples who paid $1,000, said Wakim spokesman Will Holley.
Supporters who all together numbered about 275 paid either $100 or $1,000 to drink white wine or apple cider and munch on pepperoni rolls and ham and biscuits under a large white tent on the lawn of the Shaw estate as they waited for Bush's late afternoon arrival. The appearance was the fifth one this week and the third and last on Wednesday that Bush has made on behalf of Republican Congressional candidates, according to the Washington Post, which attributed the busy agenda to the battle the party faces to retain control on Capitol Hill. She has raised $10.7 million so far this election cycle, according to the article, which attributed the figure to the Republican National Committee.
In addition to area residents, those milling around awaiting Bush's arrival included Delegate Sarah Minear, R-Tucker; Delegate Cindy Frich, R-Monongalia; and Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin, who rose out of relative obscurity in 2004 to defeat Warren McGraw in a campaign financially supported by Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.
Benjamin declined to make a comment regarding Wakim, citing ethics guidelines, noting his interest in the event came from Bush.
"It's the first lady I'm here to see," he said.
Frich noted that she and Wakim worked together on Logan's Law, a piece of state legislation that would have required a mandatory prison sentence of 25 years to life for anyone who molests a child under the age of 12. The legislation was defeated during the recent legislative session in Charleston. Brochures available during the event also outlined Wakim's views on other hot-button issues - against gay marriage and abortion, in favor of the second amendment and school prayer.
Bush's visit is not the first from Republicans on a national scale on Wakim's behalf. Vice President Dick Cheney, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Majority Whip Roy Blunt all have stumped for Wakim in recent months.
This scenario, said Robert Rupp, a political science professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, might mean that Mollohan has credible competition in the general election for the first time in 24 years.
"It's shows the Republican Party is taking his candidacy seriously," said Rupp, who said he also planned to attend Wednesday's Marion County Chamber of Commerce dinner where Mollohan would be the guest speaker.
Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics in Charlottesville, noted the interest was less about Wakim and more about Mollohan's vulnerability stemming from ethics allegations against Mollohan charging that the congressman has tunneled money to friends and supporters through nonprofit organizations.
"That's 90 percent of it," Sabato said Wednesday evening. "The reason this district has become competitive is because Mollohan could be in serious ethical difficulty. Had no scandal broken over Mollohan, this would not have been a competitive race."
Sabato's Web site, www.centerforpolitics.org, features a list of the "Dirty 30" competitive Congressional races, including the Mollohan-Wakim match-up, cited for the highest level of competitiveness. The race is one of the few on the list where the potentially troubled incumbent is a Democrat, Sabato said.
"When you look at the overall races, Democrats are likely to pick up seats," Sabato said. But it was the Republicans who showed up at Fairmont's historic Shaw House on Morgantown Avenue on Wednesday, lining up in the sloped driveway as the security detail, which included several Secret Service members, about nine Fairmont police officers and a K-9 explosives dog named Romulus, checked picture I.D.s and allowed them into the tent to await Bush's arrival from Morgantown. She did not disappoint, arriving earlier than expected before her 5 p.m. speech time, complimenting the Shaw House and referring to a newspaper article about preparations made on her behalf. "The story said that Workers were wielding weed whackers, trimming the ivy beds and planting fresh flowers and holly trees on the grounds of the three-story Tudor Revival home." I wish I could have told you before I came that there's no rush. After spending last week in Crawford (Texas) with the president, I'm used to the sound of clearing brush."
Bush also passed on a more serious message about one of her favorite topics, children, referring to the presidential initiative Helping Americas Youth.
"I've been to schools and to after-school programs," she said. "I've met with mentors and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. I've visited gang intervention programs where I met with young people who have left gangs and are finding jobs."
She stumped for Wakim, saying he not only would support West Virginia's traditional industries, but also work to bring "21st century" jobs to the state, "so that many West Virginians will benefit from America's strong economy and choose to raise their families here at home."
Bush, who spoke for nearly 10 minutes, touched on the war in Iraq when she stated that her husband has "pledged that we will stand with the people of Iraq as they build their democracy."
After her remarks, Bush remained at the Shaw House for about half an hour, signing autographs and getting her photograph taken with supporters.
"She's a real lady," said Mary Ellen Koay of Fairmont, who attended with her husband, Dr. Jack Koay, as she checked out the couple's digital image with the first lady on the back of her camera. "She's very easy to talk to."
Homeowner Mike Shaw said the first Secret Service detail began to show up last Friday to prepare for the event.
"It's just a little beehive," he said prior to the event.
Afterward, he said the first lady "could not have been more classy."
Hawkinberry also finally got the chance to meet the woman she admires.
"It was just chit-chat," she said of her photo op. "She's very beautiful and nice."
E-mail Mary Wade Burnside at mwburnside@timeswv.com.
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