Bush plans trip to Cape

A spokesman for yachtsman and Osterville summer resident William Koch says the President has agreed to attend a Sea Scout event at Koch's home June 25.

By KEVIN DENNEHY, staff writer

America's Cup winner

The winner of the 1992 America's Cup race, the World Series of yachting, Koch is hosting the event for Sea Scouts, a youth organization that promotes leadership skills for men and women, ages 14 to 21.

More than 120 participants from around the world will participate in the event from June 20 to June 26 at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy's sailing center on Long Pond in Plymouth.

Koch doesn't know President Bush, but extended the invitation a year ago in hopes he'd attend.

Koch's brothers Charles and David, owners of oil firm Koch Industries Inc., donated $1.8 million for Republican television and radio advertisements in 1996.

Bush won't likely appear at the regatta itself because of security concerns.

But he's expecting a lavish event at Koch's home, where he hopes the president will present prizes to the winning team. The party will not be a fund-raising event, he said.

Cape leaders say a presidential appearance is always good for the region.

"If it happens, it'll be great for the Cape, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat," said state Rep. Thomas George, R-Yarmouth. "Everything that surrounds (a presidential visit) is just so magnified."

"Any time you get a celebrity as big as the president, it helps bring nationwide attention to this vacation resort area."

Earlier Bush visit

It's certainly not Bush's firsttrip to the Cape. In December 1987, the then-40-year-old son of Vice President George H.W. Bush visited the Cape to open a campaign headquarters for his father in South Yarmouth.

Bush, who was full-time campaign adviser to his father at the time, had just arrived from New Hampshire in a snowstorm that morning to speak to 75 Cape supporters of his father.

And in an interview with the Times, the youthful looking Bush - referred to in the story as George Bush Jr. - reminded a reporter that while the Bush family called Texas home, New England claimed a special part of their lives.

"(Kennebunkport) is the symbol of our communal gathering and our family warmth," he said.

(Excerpt from Cape Cod Times - Published: April 15, 2004 - Used with permission)