USTIN, Texas - George W. Bush, after keeping his distance from the conservative Christian Coalition for most of the general election campaign, has confirmed that he will address the group via satellite today.
Bush aides never volunteered news of the appearance, raising suspicions that he was trying to avoid drawing attention to the event. When Bush returned to his Texas ranch yesterday, aides said he planned to spend the weekend practicing for the debates. The campaign had earlier declined an invitation to the Christian Coalition's convention in Washington this weekend, citing that scheduling conflict.
When reporters learned about the satellite appearance, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer confirmed it would take place, but said it had only been added to the schedule the night before. He denied there was any effort to hide Bush's association with the group.
Fleischer said there would be nothing unusual about the speech, likening it to a similar satellite appearance Bush made to the California Republican Party several weeks ago.
Unlike in previous elections, the Christian Coalition, an antiabortion, deeply conservative organization, has played a marginal public role in the post-primary Republican campaign this year, as Bush has courted moderates and swing voters.
In an interview yesterday with the Associated Press, the group's founder said he understood that Bush must keep to a ''delicate strategy,'' not tying himself too closely to the Christian Coalition if he hopes to beat Al Gore.
''I'm sophisticated enough to understand the strategy here, and it's a very deliberate and delicate strategy,'' founder Pat Robertson said. ''Whether that will do the job, I don't know.''
Still, the Christian Coalition has not wavered in its support for Bush. Robertson told the convention that the election of Bush is critical to restructuring the Supreme Court with more justices who oppose abortion.
''If you care about partial-birth abortion, if you care about the sanctity of life, if you care about preserving the family, if you care about the moral fiber of this nation, which in my opinion has been undermined consistently by Supreme Court decisions, this election can be the most important in the last 100 years,'' he said.
Lynne Cheney, wife of the Republican vice presidential candidate, made a last-minute appearance, telling supporters the GOP ticket would bring ''leadership that will tell the truth, stand up for life, stand up for values.''
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
