Bush travels to Arkansas, Georgia to tout tax-cut plan.(The Dallas Morning News)

ATLANTA _ So if President Bush wants to reclaim the attention given to his predecessor, why would he visit Bill Clinton's former stomping grounds, Little Rock, Ark.?

To lobby Democratic lawmakers on his tax-cut plan.

The new president capped a quasi-campaign swing Thursday in Arkansas and Georgia. He carried both states in last year's election and is now seeking help from Democrats in their congressional delegations for his first budget, which includes tax cuts of up to $1.6 trillion.

"That's OK," said Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., making no commitments. "I've been on a target list before."

During a rally later in Atlanta, Bush proudly read a letter from Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., who endorsed the president's plan to give money back to taxpayers by writing: "As that old Elvis Presley song goes, we should `Return to Sender.'"

"Oh, I know he's a Democrat and, of course, I'm a Republican,". Bush told supporters. "But both of us put America first."

As Bush urged backers in two states to lobby Congress, a House committee conducted televised hearings on the last-hour pardons granted by Clinton. Weeks of publicity over the pardons and other Clinton controversies including White House gifts and New York office rents have sucked some of the attention from the Bush presidency, somewhat to the consternation of Bush aides. Bush himself said recently that he would like to see the country "move on."