By James Hannah
The Associated Press

President Bush and Sen. George Voinovich talk on Bush's arrival at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Thursday. | ZOOM |

DAYTON - The Ohio Republican senator who opposes President Bush's $550 billion tax-cut proposal skipped the president's first stop Thursday in his home state.

The two met briefly during a stopover but did not talk specifically about the economic plan, Sen. George Voinovich said.

He said he told Bush - in an exchange that lasted no more than 15 seconds on the tarmac at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base - that the media had tried to cause a rift between the two.

"I love the president, I really do," Voinovich said in an interview after Bush boarded a helicopter for Lima. "I respect him and he respects me. We have a difference of opinion on this. I've been with him 96 percent of the time."

Voinovich has said he will not back any tax cut over $350 billion without spending cuts.

The senator, who some in the Bush administration have said was the target of Bush's visit, was missing from the crowd at a Timken Co. research center in North Canton. Bush laid out his economic plan and urged support for tax cuts.

Voinovich's staff said he was absent because of a previous commitment at the VA Medical Center in Dayton.

It's rare for a lawmaker of the same party not to join the president on such a visit to the lawmaker's home state, said Erwin Hargrove, professor emeritus of political science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

"They often ride on the same plane," he said. "It's a snub."

But it's not surprising that Voinovich wouldn't want to stand by as Bush promoted tax cuts he opposes, Hargrove said.

Voinovich was first in the receiving line at Wright-Patterson and applauded as Bush walked down the steps of Air Force One. Bush grabbed the lawmaker's hand and both were smiling.

"I just basically said 'I'm glad you're here,'" Voinovich said.