'War and peace' concerns president, not Dems, says Snow

'War and peace' concerns president, not Dems, says Snow
Spokesman says 'no reaction' to reports of Obama-mania in New Hampshire

Whether Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ind., has one reporter following him or a hundred is irrelevant to President Bush, according to a spokesman.

Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, asked spokesman Tony Snow about Washington Post reports that during a visit to New Hampshire, Obama was trailed by "a huge media hoard" of more than 100.

"Does the president, as head of the GOP, believe that Sen. Hillary Clinton is seriously concerned about this Barack boom?" Kinsolving asked.

"Again, the president, I think – as I've tried to make clear, the president is worried about matters of global war and peace, and he'll allow the Democrats to conduct their own primary business when that process does, in fact, begin in earnest," Snow said.

A report in Time noted that "Obama-mania" landed in New Hampshire, the site of the first presidential primary, over the weekend.

A fundraiser intended for 500 people sold more than 1,500 tickets and 700 came to another event.

"He was so inspiring," Sarah Blodget told the magazine after a book signing in Portsmouth. "He had me on the verge of tears. No politician has been this eloquent and this personable in years."

The magazine quoted "people who have spoken to him" as saying he's weighing family considerations as well as practical matters like money in deciding whether to attempt to challenge Hillary Clinton for the next Democratic presidential nomination.

The magazine noted there's little actually known about Obama. "Obama is perhaps the only presidential candidate who could get invited to major events by both conservative pastor Rick Warren and the liberal group MoveOn.org…"

Kinsolving also asked about the reaction from the president after his father, former President George H.W. Bush, attended the swearing-in of new Mexican President Felipe Calderon, an event that featured whistles, catcalls, fightfights, screamed insults and pushing matches.

"No reaction to that," Snow said.

In Mexico, supporters of challenger Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have accused Calderon of stealing the election in July. Lopez Obrador has refused to recognized those election results and has claimed he actually is the legitimate president of Mexico.