Las Vegas- President Bush touched down in Las Vegas last night ahead of a half day of events in the city Thursday.  The president is expected to speak this morning before the Nevada Policy Research Institute and to host a fundraiser at a home owned by Sheldon Adelson, Chairman of the Sands Corp.

Traditionally, presidents spend the weeks immediately following the State of the Union address barnstorming the country to build support for their SOTU agenda.  Despite the relative lack of new policy initiatives in the address, the president is spending much of this week on a four-state swing speaking before friendly audiences and raising money for Republicans.

“It was just beautiful to speak to him,” said Tibi Ellis, Hispanic outreach director for the Nevada Republican Party.  Ellis, along with Gov. Jim Gibbons and wife Dawn, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, and Sen. Barbara Cegavske (R-Clark 8) greeted President Bush as he exited Air Force One at McCarran Airport last night.  A limousine was pulled up immediately outside of the stairway from the plane, preventing photographers from getting a shot of the party greeting the president.

In a break from tradition, neither Congressmen Jon Porter (R-NV) nor Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) were present to greet the president.  Both claimed scheduling conflicts and denied their absence was a snub to the president.