Bush stumps for philanderer accused of beating his mistress during National Character Counts Week. According to the Washington Post,

it is not clear what benefit the White House found in sending Bush to stump for [Pennsylvania Congressman Don] Sherwood — smack dab in the middle of what Bush, in an official proclamation, dubbed “National Character Counts Week.” […] “I’m pleased to be here with Don Sherwood,” a smiling president told the congressman’s loyal but dispirited supporters at a luncheon fundraiser Thursday. “He has got a record of accomplishment.”

Here’s a little backgrounder on Sherwood’s record. In 2004, his mistress, a Peruvian immigrant more than 30 years his junior, locked herself in the bathroom and called 911 to report that Sherwood was beating her and trying to strangle her. (He told police he was just giving her a back massage.) The woman’s alleged injuries included “facial lacerations, bruises about the head, neck and other portions of her body, head injury, injuries to her teeth, mouth and gums, back and neck strain, and injuries to her scalp.” Last year, he settled a $5.5 million lawsuit with the woman.

Is that the “record of accomplishment” Bush was referring to?

Both Carol Sherwood and the couple’s daughter, Maria Sherwood, stood on stage behind the congressman, human inoculation against the charges. Before a dead-silent audience, Bush praised Carol Sherwood for writing a letter to her husband’s constituents calling a Democratic ad about the mistress’s allegations “needlessly cruel”. As Maria Sherwood’s face took on what some called an “agonized” expression behind him, Bush declared himself “deeply moved by [Carol Sherwood’s] words.”