WASHINGTON -- With a landslide victory in Pennsylvania, President Bush officially claimed the Republican nomination for re- election and told a record fund-raiser he expects to win big in the fall.
'This could well be the year we win control of both houses of Congress,' a jubilant and optimistic Bush told a black-tie and pearled gathering of 4,000 that helped contribute $9 million to the GOP cause Tuesday night.
Organizers of the President's Dinner said it was the most money ever generated at a political fund-raiser, exceeding the old mark of $7.1 million set at last year's annual affair.
The dinner at the Washington Convention Center coincided with the Pennsylvania primary, where voters gave Bush enough delegates to reach the magic number of 1,105 needed for the nomination.
'It's official. George Bush is our nominee,' Rep. Guy Vander Jagt, R-Mich., cried out in announcing the Pennsylvania results to the gathering. The predominatley white and wealthy crowd gave Bush a standing ovation.
'I am grateful to so many for this victory,' the president said. 'It's wonderful to be officially over the top.'
Battered and bruised in the early GOP primaries by a combative Patrick Buchanan, Bush said, 'I've learned a lot this campaign. I know better than I did in depth of the cares and concerns of those who chose to support us -- and those who didn't.'
The president made it clear that he intends to run in the general election just as much against the Democratic-controlled Congress as his likely Democratic challenger, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
Blaming his failures on Congress, he said, 'My administration has put forth good ideas and new solutions and seen them killed by the Democratic majority up there on Heartbreak Hill.'
'I believe that a president with the right ideas, the right intentions, the right beliefs, can get through the right kind of Congress,' he said.
Concluding his remarks with a high-pitched vow, the president said, 'I intend to win this thing ... and with your help, win it big.'
The crowd roared.
Earlier Tuesday, Bush, bouyed by news that the recession may be over, gave a fiery pep talk to campaign workers.
He said the campaign should be conducted with 'a certain sense of honor,' but added, 'I'll be damned if I'm going to roll over for a lot of these outrageous charges that are coming out of the opposition, day in and day out.'
'We don't have to take that,' shouted Bush, who has been accused by Democrats of failing to respond to the nation's needs, from education to the economy.
The President's Dinner, which raises money for the GOP and congressional campaigns, has been hit by reports in recent day of arm- twistingby some corporate contributors, a practice publicly denounced by Bush.
The administration rejected charges that the affair, which provides contributors a chance to mix and mingle with the high and mighty, amounts to a selling of the White House.
White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said Tuesday, 'Buying access is what political parties are all about.' He later said he meant to say that the 'political system' promotes fund-raising to help candidates.
Rich Gallen, a Dallas political consultant and a dinner spokesman, said, 'There is nothing illegal about providing access to the people.'
