Bush raises $2 million in Florida, South Carolina

President Bush worked to allay fears about the financial crisis on Friday then left the White House and headed south to raise nearly $2 million for the Republican Party in South Carolina and the battleground state of Florida. GOP presidential nominee John McCain, who has taken a hit in the polls in recent weeks, is slightly behind his Democratic rival Barack Obama in Florida, which offers 27 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. "The president is convinced that John McCain has still time to close up this race," White House press secretary Dana Perino... [read full story]