Sununu created an "appearance problem" by using a government car to travel to a New York stamp show, Bush said, but "given the circumstances, I think it was appropriate."; He added, however: "It doesn't set a precedent. It doesn't say anyone that has access to a car can go anyplace that anyone wants at any time."; "I recognize, and I think the governor does, there's an appearance problem," Bush said.; But, he added, "The facts surrounding this particular trip, this beating that he's taken, is unwarranted in my view."; In Des Moines, Sununu vowed he would not take advice from "self-styled experts" on how or when he travels.; "You can't get here without traveling," Sununu told a Republican fund-raiser. "I know that's a very complicated concept for some."; Sources said Tuesday that an angry Bush contacted a senior political adviser Sunday to discuss how to handle the controversy after learning of Sununu's decision to have a government car and driver take him to New York last Wednesday. Sununu attended a rare-stamp auction and conducted other personal business but no official duties there, officials said.; Bush apparently made his call after Sununu defended himself on television Sunday. It was Sununu's first appearance on a network program since revelations in April about his extensive use of government planes for activities ranging from visiting his dentist to skiing to trips to his home state of New Hampshire.; On Sunday, Sununu gave the same explanation for using the government car that he had offered for using government planes -- that he must be able to communicate instantly with the White House in the interest of national security.; Sununu has been unable to fly on government planes for personal business since Bush instituted new travel rules after the April controversy.; Sununu since has asked sponsors of political events at which he is to speak to obtain corporate jets to take him to and from Washington. White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said Tuesday that direct solicitation of firms to provide such planes would not be improper, although Sununu aides deny that he asked directly for the planes.; The car controversy has created new ripples among Republicans who question whether Sununu recognizes that repeated questions about his ethics reflect poorly on Bush, who vowed during his campaign to bring a higher ethical standard to his administration and fight even the appearance of impropriety among aides.; One administration source, echoing comments by many Republicans outside the administration, said Tuesday that Sununu "has a total blind spot on the issue of ethics and public service."; While Fitzwater has defended the legality of using the car and corporate jets, he would not offer an opinion on perceptions of impropriety.; "I can't make a judgment," he said, adding, "I don't know what happened" in connection with the jets. Party officials in three states where Sununu has made recent appearances said they, not the White House, asked corporations to provide him planes.; Sununu and Edward Rogers, his top personal aide, flew to Des Moines Tuesday night on a corporate jet arranged by the Iowa Republican Party so Sununu could address a fund-raising event, according to Randy Enwright, the party's executive director.; "Because of all the flak, we wanted to make sure we did it right," he said. "We ran this by the White House to make sure the company didn't have any business pending there."; The Kirke-Van Orsdel insurance company in Des Moines furnished the plane, Enwright said, and the state party was to pay the firm about $2,000, the cost of two round-trip, first-class commercial tickets.; The New Jersey Republican Party arranged last week for Beneficial Corp. of Peapack, N.J., to charter a plane to fly Sununu here after a fund-raising appearance there, according to party spokesman Bill Ulrey.; After his personal business in New York last Wednesday, Sununu had gone on to New Jersey for the fund-raiser, while his driver returned alone to Washington. Beneficial had been prepared to fly Sununu to and from the event, but Sununu changed his mind and took the car at the last minute, officials said.; White House officials said the local press has raised the transportation issue on every Sununu trip since April, reflecting how the controversy has played nationally. "Who's paying to get him there is the first question they ask," an administration official said of Sununu's travels.
After the controversy two months ago over White House Chief of Staff John Sununu's use of government aircraft for private travel, President Bush instituted new travel rules forbidding the practice. Now Sununu has again created what the President calls an "appearance problem" by using a government limousine to travel to New York on strictly personal business. Replying to critics of the New York trip, Sununu vowed he would not take advice from "self- styled experts" on how he travels and explained that he took the car so as to be able to communicate instantly with the White House in the interest of national security.