Davis-Monthan Air Force Base personnel welcomed President Bush on Friday. Earlier, Bush headlined a fundraising brunch for District 8 congressional candidate Tim Bee.

a.e. araiza / Arizona Daily Star

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President Bush headlined Friday what is said to be the most successful political fundraiser in Tucson history, raking in at least $500,000 at a private event for Republican congressional candidate Tim Bee.

How much of that money will go to Bee, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is unknown at this point. Admission was $1,000 — $10,000 to actually meet Bush — and part of that money will go to national Republicans.

The Bee campaign will foot the bill for at least some of the costs associated with the visit, according to White House officials, since the Tucson stop was not considered an official trip. But neither the White House nor the campaign would provide an estimate of those costs Friday.

Likely, though, the event will strengthen the coffers of a campaign that has been out-raised nearly 3-to-1 and needs a boost to stay competitive against Giffords, who has more than $2 million in cash. The Bee campaign was guarded about the details of the event — highlighting the fine line the Republican challenger is trying to walk in using the fundraising skills of an unpopular president.

Bee never appeared publicly with the president and the fundraiser was closed to media. Those who attended say Bush praised Bee's work at the Legislature, where he is the outgoing president of the Senate. In a 20-minute speech, Bush expressed confidence that Bee could win the 8th Congressional District, represented by Giffords since 2007, and a nationally watched political race.

But the hush-hush approach to this visit wasn't mirrored at a similar stop the president made later in the day. After the Bee event, Bush flew to Houston and appeared publicly with Republican Pete Olson, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Nick Lampson in Texas' 22nd Congressional District.

There, Olson and Bush stood on the tarmac of Houston's Ellington Field.

Here, however, Bee stayed away from the television and newspaper cameras.

In an interview, Bee said his absence from the tarmac was due to scheduling and said there were no efforts to downplay the visit.

"There's always going to be efforts to put events like this one in a negative light," Bee said. "I don't want to undervalue at all what it means to have the president here."

"Coming from humble beginnings," Bee, a native Tucsonan, said, "and to have the opportunity for the president of the United States to come and speak positively is a tremendous honor."

The sold-out brunch at a Foothills home near First Avenue and Ina Road also brought major roads in town to a standstill Thursday night and early Friday as a motorcade whisked the president up and down Swan Road. Bush arrived about 10 p.m. Thursday and spent the night at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa. A little after 10 a.m. Friday, he was off to Texas.

While on his fourth visit to Tucson since elected, Bush also recorded his weekly radio address from La Paloma and spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki about a potential timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

By 8:10 a.m. he was on his way to the fundraiser, attended by more than 400 people. Nearby, Democrats held protests at Ina and Oracle roads, an event that drew about 250 people, according to a spokeswoman with the state Democratic Party.

At a sign-making party Thursday night, about 50 people showed up to prepare.

Audrey Emerson, a 40-year Republican, attended, and said she is now supporting Demo-crats because the Bush administration "has seized control from the 'we the people.

"I'm so overwhelmed with anger and resentment with how this administration has been conducted," she said. "I think Tucsonans need to know there's disaffected Republicans who feel strongly about more Bush policies."

But while Emerson is strongly opposed to Bee's candidacy, she also is not completely satisfied with Giffords. "I would have liked to see her be more progressive," said Emerson, a 73-year-old retiree.

Many others, however, didn't seem so angry about the visit.

At 9:35 a.m., Bush's motorcade left the fundraiser and hundreds of Tucsonans lined Sunrise Drive and Swan Road, which were completely closed, to take pictures and wave to the president. Some held signs ranging from "Thank God for Bush" to "Tucson is Blue."

Eleven-year-old Robert Martinez Jr. was one who managed to catch a glimpse of Bush.

"I actually saw the president inside of his vehicle," a beaming Robert said.

Angelina Martinez was with Robert as the motorcade passed by and she said she felt a sense of pride. "It was really exciting," she said. "It made me feel proud to be an American. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true."

Bee's opponent, Giffords, also said she was glad that president visited. At one point, his motorcade drove by her Midtown congressional office. Giffords, however, was still en route from Washington.

"It's a beautiful day, it's a warm day — hopefully he had a chance to do a quick hike in Sabino Canyon or enjoy some of the great weather we're having right now," said Giffords, a Democrat, later in the day at an event of her own. She also stated Bush "has taken this country in a terrible direction" and said that Bee should "articulate" the issues on which he disagrees with Bush.

And Bee did, naming two during an interview. Bee said he disagreed with No Child Left Behind, a signature education policy of the Bush administration.

"State and local school districts should make decisions for students on the local level rather than having regulations at the federal level," he said.

He also said "Congress as a whole and the administration needs to do a better job of bring spending under control," and he criticized Bush for not vetoing more earmark spending during his presidency.

Bush has raised more than $70 million for Republicans this year.