WASHINGTON -- President Bush will raise money Friday in Miami for imperiled members of his party -- but the Miami area's three Republican members of Congress, who face aggressive reelection challenges, won't be among the attendees.

Bush -- whose popularity is low but who remains a formidable fundraiser -- will attend a fundraiser at a home in Coral Gables to benefit the Congressional Trust 2008, a joint account that benefits congressional candidates nationwide through the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Committee.

Campaign representatives for the three Miami-area Republicans said Wednesday they did not know about Bush's visit until they were contacted by The Miami Herald, and that they would not attend due to prior commitments.

''We have a full campaign schedule,'' said Carlos Curbelo, a spokesman for Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart. Among the prior engagements: taping debates for Univisión and WFOR-CBS 4. A spokesman for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who has not agreed to further debates, said she planned to be in the Keys on Friday, ``visiting with constituents.''

The visit comes as Democrats look to tie Republicans -- from the top of the ticket down -- to Bush's unpopularity. Ros-Lehtinen's opponent, Annette Taddeo, at a campaign forum Wednesday, repeatedly accused the GOP congresswoman of acting as a ''rubber stamp'' for the president's policies.

A Gallup poll taken over the weekend found Bush's job approval rating slipping to a record low, with only 25 percent of Americans approving of the way he is handling the job. Despite the poll numbers, Bush remains popular with the GOP base: news reports note he raised an estimated $500,000 at a weekend fundraiser in Midland, Texas.

Bush held a fundraiser for the Diaz-Balarts in June in Naples, Fla., but the pair stayed in Washington to vote. That event raised more than $600,000 for the Miami Republicans' campaigns and the Republican Party of Florida.

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