Elite eager to shell out for brush with power

On Friday morning, several hundred wealthy people will walk into an 8,000-square-foot mansion just off Lake Washington in Medina to meet the biggest VIP of them all. They may stroll past windows covered in blue curtains to ward off snipers and will probably be ushered into a single, secure room to wait more than two hours for the guest of honor.

President Bush will be making his fourth visit to Washington since taking office, this time to raise money for U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert's re-election campaign and state Republicans' get-out-the-vote effort.

According to several people who have organized such events, the high-powered donors in attendance will witness a brief, strictly secure, heavily choreographed affair that nonetheless will give them what they crave: an inside glimpse of the most powerful man in the world.

Make no mistake, though, the president is in town to raise money. Lots of it. Similar events at mansions in Hunts Point and Medina raised $1.7 million and $2.4 million, respectively.

"He may be popular or he may not be popular, but he's still the president of the United States," said Chris Vance, former chairman of the state Republican Party. "There's a certain level of donor who only give when it's the president."

It's no coincidence that three of Bush's four visits have included stops on the Eastside's Gold Coast. The small suburbs are a haven for rich, politically connected donors with spacious, secure estates. Bill Clinton also headlined a fundraiser in Medina when he was president.

"We chose people with big homes that can be sufficiently protected and where the traffic patterns weren't too complicated," said former U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, the state chairwoman of Bush's 2004 campaign and a participant in a dozen presidential visits.

Microsoft corporate Vice President Peter Neupert and his wife, Sheryl, are hosting the president this time around at their 5-acre estate.

Their 1929 home is historically called Lakelure and was an Eastside society spot when developer Kemper Freeman Sr. lived there in the 1950s.

Since 2003, the Neuperts have given about $43,000 to national Republican candidates and groups, including $4,000 to Bush and $2,400 to Reichert, according to federal campaign-finance reports. Peter Neupert, the former chief executive of drugstore.com, also served on Bush's advisory committee for information-technology issues.

"You're not going to choose someone you don't know," Dunn said. "You're not going to choose someone who hasn't given to your candidate. It's too great of an honor [to host]."

Dunn said the president will be greeted when he touches down at Boeing Field by local party officials, probably including Reichert and Republican state chairwoman Diane Tebelius.

Then he will be taken to the Neupert home for a 10:15 a.m. reception. The Secret Service and local police are not disclosing the route, but Bush's motorcade has traveled Highway 520 in past visits.

Expect traffic to be cleared in advance of the motorcade, similar to Chinese President Hu Jintao's trip to the Eastside in April.

Bush will go through a receiving line, including the Neuperts, and pose for photos with bigwigs who paid $10,000 for the privilege.

At 10:40 a.m., the president will enter a room with the rest of the donors, who paid $1,000 to get in the door and will arrive at the Neupert home as early as 8 a.m. for security reasons.

The midmorning reception will probably include just snacks, and people may stand, not sit, when Bush makes his brief remarks, Republican leaders said. Dunn figures the president probably will be in a good mood, after his surprise visit to Iraq this week and the recent death of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

About 12 groups are planning to protest the Iraq war and the president's policies on Medicare, schools and abortion. Scores of local police officers will be on hand along the motorcade route and in Medina to help with security.

After wireless mogul Craig McCaw hosted Bush at his Hunts Point home in August 2003, the city was stuck with a $23,600 bill for security.

Medina officials said their costs should be no more than $1,500 for hosting the president this week because outside police agencies will serve under mutual-aid agreements and are not expected to charge the city for their services.

After Bush speaks to the crowd at the Neupert home, he is not expected to mingle or make any public stops before his motorcade travels back to Boeing Field.

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com