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Editorial: Don't quibble of the bill for hosting Bush The (Portland) Oregonian The price of being on the political map is that a city will sometimes rate a visit, in person, from a president. It's an honor, one that should be treated with a certain generosity of spirit. We hate to see it descend, like a bad lunch date, into tense calculations over the bill. Yes, it's expensive to police a presidential visit. But Portland's attempt to obtain reimbursement from the Republican Party for policing costs related to President Bush's planned fund-raiser during this visit strikes us as comical, even embarrassing. Whipping out the calculators isn't a bad impulse in itself, but this kind of calculation - by a Democratic mayor involving a Republican president - seems more political than economic. Portland protesters would be happy to see the Republican Party pay for policing parts of the president's trip, but the same protesters would be outraged if they had to pay their share. And yet protests are the variable that sends policing costs skyward. And protesters stand to benefit from this presidential trip no less than Republicans, as is clear if you take a look at the protesters' Web sites. A presidential visit gives them a chance to amplify their message and attract followers. Portland police, caught in the middle, were preparing Monday to treat all sides with respect, which is just about all any of us can do. Bush's fans and foes in Portland may not be able to summon mutual respect, but they can surely summon some patience. "I tell you, folks, all politics is applesauce," Will Rogers wrote in 1924. Correction: Your opponents' politics amount to applesauce. Your own politics, of course, come closer to apple pie. Any way you look at it, a city's date with a president is a bargain. Don't quibble over the bill. Consider it one price of democracy. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -