 "Photo: Claire Huie")
 "Photo: Claire Huie")
CRAWFORD - The tallest structure in this town is a row of grain silos. A dusty banner across their tops reads, "Crawford, Texas - Bush Country." The city of 700 is draped in signs of all sizes proclaiming "Bush 2004," and "We will not falter," and "Bush is good for Crawford." Pro-Bush rhetoric dominates the skyline in this town where there is no Wal-Mart or McDonald's to break the continuity.
Crawford has experienced a boom in tourism since Bush came to town five years ago and has attracted the attention of reporters, developers, business owners and others. In recent years, politicians from surrounding areas have started to include Crawford on their campaign trails, as have various church fund-raisers.
With the Western White House only a few miles away, Crawford has been roped into the political arena, to the chagrin of many area residents. Some of Crawford's townspeople said they do not support the president and plan to vote against him. But many refused to comment on the record, for fear of damaging their reputations or risking exposure to personal attack.
Small-town livin' in Bush country
Tourists and locals gather for a meal at Spanos' Family Coffee Center, Crawford's combination gas station, convenience store and cafe, and sit among life-size cardboard cutouts of the Bush family and members of his administration. They may never have met the president, but many are quick to sing his praises: He is a great neighbor, a man of integrity, a man of faith. In this small diner in his adopted hometown, Bush enjoys a great deal of support.
"I think he's honest, and he tells you what he's thinking," said Randy Nutter, a card-carrying Republican visiting Crawford from Center Township, Penn. "I think he tells you what he's going to do, and I think he then does it, and that's refreshing in a politician. I think he also does what he thinks is right rather than what is politically popular."
Republican campaigns are looking forward to strong support from Crawford's voters, and officials feel the city reflects the sentiments of state.
"Crawford is predominantly a Republican area, as is most of rural Texas. There's some good Republicans and some good Democrats out there," said Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor. "Just because the president has moved there, I don't think it's changed the political climate at all. It just brings a higher focus to what goes on in that town."
Gina Hollenbeck, a spokeswoman for congressional candidate Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth, R-Burleson, said Crawford is loyal to Bush and other Republican candidates and will remain so.
"This is Bush country, and people here, including the representative, are very proud of the job he's done," Hollenbeck said, adding that Crawford is home to many Republicans who strongly support the president and provide a strong base of support for Republican campaigns.
"We are expecting very good support from Crawford [in the upcoming election]," she said.
However, things aren't as simple as they seem, and there is another side to politics in the president's backyard.
Quiet little town
Robert Campbell, the city's mayor, Congressman Chet Edwards and State Rep. John Mabry are Democrats. Many of the townspeople speak critically of the president's policies in Iraq. While it seems there is a diversity of opinion, Crawford's people can also be evasive and vague about their political leanings.
Many refused to talk about their political beliefs, and anyone with anything critical to say about the president and his policies refused to go on the record.
Paul McDaniel, a spokesman for the Crawford Peace House, a base of operations for peace activists, said his organization has had silent support from locals.
"We've had people come to us and almost say on the Q.T., quietly, 'Hey, we agree with you guys. I just can't stand here and hold a sign, because my boss might see me, or my neighbor or my church member might see me, but I really agree with you,'" said McDaniel, who has been with the Peace House since it was established across the tracks from downtown in 2002.
Politics in Crawford are nuanced. While Peace House efforts have received local support, McDaniel said that most of Crawford's residents just want their quiet little town back and have told him they'd be glad to see their city's fame fade. Many people said it is an inconvenience, especially when Bush comes to town, and the Secret Service blocks off all the streets.
"The presidency, as an organization, whether on the road or in Washington, lives in a bubble that is surrounded by privilege and high-tech equipment and extraordinary spending that deals with the presidency and the press corps," said Bruce Buchanan, a government professor at the University who specializes in presidential politics. "There's no question that it's a hassle, and people feel it's a hassle. It's a problem for every president. I'm not sure what, if anything, you can do about it. Presidents have to go somewhere. We wouldn't begrudge them their dwellings."
Buchanan said presidents, by their very nature, create logistical difficulties wherever they go, and people who experience those difficulties generally don't like the situation. He added that he understands residents' concerns, but the president keeping his home in rural town of 700 is better than him living in the middle of Manhattan, where a visit would inconvenience millions.
But it isn't all about logistics. Many area residents also said they believe open support for a group that opposes the president's policies can be a scarlet letter for people living in Bush's backyard.
Silence
"I know what happened to the Dixie Chicks," said Ginger Roberson, a Crawford resident. "I'm not going to say anything bad about [Bush] because, you know, he might be kicking my butt."
Many agreed to discuss their feelings but asked not to be quoted or identified by name. One resident said people are tired of being misquoted by the press and being made out to sound like "ignorant hicks." Another woman refused to comment about politics out of respect for her neighbors.
"I don't want to get in politically one way or the other," she said. "I just let people be what they want to be, and I do what I want. I'm not going to talk about the man in the office next door, because I've known him all my life. That's like talking about your neighbor. You don't want to talk about your neighbor and have it printed in the paper."
Others said for the average joe, it doesn't really matter who is in office.
"Truthfully, I really don't think it makes a hootin' damn which one of them gets elected," said a customer at Spanos' Family Coffee Center who requested anonymity. "They're both going to ... cheat on you. So which one is going to do the least cheating than the other?"
He said he plans to vote for Bush in the next election, but in the end, the White House will go to one wealthy person or the other, and partisan politics only impact very wealthy people.
The fear and caution among Crawford's citizens isn't surprising and fits the mold of any small town in America where the president enjoys a large margin of support, Buchanan said. He said it is probable that 30 percent to 40 percent of people in Crawford oppose Bush and his policies but remain silent.
"These are folks that, only in the last few years, have had to worry about the sensibilities or the impact or influences on the lives of a president," Buchanan said. "It's understandable that regular people with no long experience at this level would feel intimidated about speaking their minds, especially with Bush as a neighbor."
Buchanan added that people might often be too intimidated to say anything due to "a vague anxiety of what might happen to them."
While he empathized with their situation, Buchanan also said such fear isn't entirely rational, and the Bush administration has probably done nothing to intimidate Crawford's residents. Buchanan said this kind of cautious reaction is to be expected of people not deeply engaged in the political process.
Symbolism
Crawford has become a staging ground for Bush's presidency as well as for peace activists and protestors. Peace House organizers said the town has taken on a symbolic significance and has transcended local politics.
"We knew that it was going to be Bush's style as a president to use this off-site from the White House as a place to meet his allies," McDaniel said. "He likes to do the sort of hometown-boy, Mr. Cowboy-on-the-range kind of thing. And he's done quite well with that."
Michael Moore, the filmmaker behind the anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," broadcast his message to this small town Wednesday, with a screening of his film in the parking lot of the city's high school football field. While the event attracted international attention, Moore opted not to come, canceling his much-anticipated Crawford visit to stay at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Approximately 150 anti-Bush activists gathered at the Peace House before the Crawford screening.
Despite Moore's absence, the occasion prompted a Republican counter-protest at Spanos' Family Coffee Center, where Wohlgemuth spoke to approximately 500 people in support of the president and American troops in Iraq.
Bush supporters rallied in opposition to the film, sporting T-shirts that said "no Moore" and "Moore equals profiteering."
One woman was wearing a chicken mask and a T-shirt with the words, "Moore is a chicken" written across the front.
"There are tons of protests that have gone on in Crawford since Bush moved here, so you get a little complacent," said Valerie Duty, a Crawford resident attending the counter-protest. "But they've never been this biased against the president. [This movie] is an atrocity."
Peace House officials said they are hopeful that bringing the movie to the home of the president will help to create a dialogue where it has been absent. While the Peace House's message is directed at the media and at those across the country whose eyes are upon Crawford, organizers also hope to reach the local citizens and provide them their own forum, McDaniel said.
"Our hope is that, should the time come when they're in the voting booth, they feel secure enough that they vote their conscience," he said.
Columnist JJ Hermes contributed to this report.
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