Mom e-mails for dollars

Barbara Bush seeks donors with a Mother's Day greeting, and scolds those making personal attacks on her son.

LETTER FROM MOM: Barbara Bush has a Mother's Day present of her own for son George.

The former first lady sent a fundraising e-mail Friday urging donors to help President Bush's re-election campaign raise money from a million donors.

"With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, I've been thinking about how proud I am of our children," Mrs. Bush wrote. "And it's with a mother's pride that I'm writing you today to ask you to support our eldest, George W., and his re-election campaign with a donation of $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or $50."

Mrs. Bush told prospective donors her son has been president during challenging times and "has met the tasks at hand with a steely determination."

"This election is going to be a tough one. That is why I'm asking for your support," she wrote. "For months the president has been facing negative advertising from John Kerry and all sorts of pro-Kerry groups. I've been particularly disappointed in the personal attacks."

JOHN KERRY RETURNS to Florida this week for fundraisers and campaign rallies. In addition to taking in more Florida campaign contributions, Kerry plans to tout his health care plans at rallies in Jacksonville on Tuesday and Orlando on Wednesday.

And with Vietnam veteran Kerry regularly claiming President Bush is not "keeping faith" with American veterans, Bush is fighting back. World War II vet and former Sen. Bob Dole, the Republican presidential candidate in 1996, heads to Tampa Tuesday to help launch a "veterans coalition."

Joining Dole will be Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, who has been bearing gifts for Florida lately. On Friday, he announced plans for a new VA hospital in Orlando.

TESTING TERM LIMITS: State Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, plans to test the waters next year for another Constitutional amendment to extend state legislative terms from eight years to 12. The proposal would not affect him personally - he will have to leave in 2006 - or many other lawmakers. It would take effect in 2008 at the earliest.

Term limits have broad public support, but Sebesta says his proposal could pass if voters understand how inexperience has effected the Legislature: "The way it is, lobbyists and staff members really play an important role in the Legislature, more so than I think the public wants them to play," he said.

A House committee approved a 12-year term limit proposal this year but the measure died after Senate President Jim King said he did not want to deal with it this year.

KING'S QUIPS: Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, meeting reporters for what may have been the last time Wednesday, kept the one-liners coming. But he seemed wistful the weekly sessions were ending and said he hoped his accessibility would set a tone for future presidents.

"I hope we've established a perhaps an expectation for future presidents that the press is not the enemy," King said. "There are opportunities for a give and take, and there is certainly an avenue available for whoever has that gavel to have the views, good or bad, distributed throughout the state."

Then King asked reporters not to forget him during the final two years of his Senate term. "It may be hard for you to find me."

"PIDDLING AWARD': On the final day of the legislative session, Republican Rep. Don Sullivan of Pinellas gave out sarcastic "certificates of attendance" to House members.

"You may never have received eye contact from the podium," the certificates read, "you may not have passed any legislation, but you were present for lunch every day."

Above his signature, the certificates said "I, the undersigned, grant you this piddling award, which brings with it the respect and love of your fellow representatives."

THE LAST-MINUTE ADDITION of a Democratic mystery candidate to the field of U.S. Senate hopefuls had conspiracy theories flying. Bernard E. Klein, a man no politico in Broward County seems to have heard of, qualified for the race on Friday. In a crowded winner-take-all primary, anybody that peels off votes can be factor, so speculation started immediately: Could Klein be a plant aimed at peeling away south Florida Jewish voters from U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Hollywood?

"It certainly does raise questions, coming at the 11th hour," said Broward Democratic chairman Mitch Ceasar.

- Times staff writers Steve Bousquet and Adam C. Smith contributed to this week's column, and information from the Associated Press was used.

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