Washington, Oct 25 : President George W Bush and first lady Laura Bush on Friday cast their votes for Republican candidate John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, filling out an early voting ballot that will be sent by mail back to Texas.

“Today the President and Mrs. Bush cast their ballots for the 2008 election during the early voting process,” said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

“The ballots will be mailed back to Texas today. They plan to be here at the White House on election night,” she said.

Twenty minutes after Perino’s first e-mail announcing that the President had voted, she sent out a second e-mail.

The subject header was, “I find this hard to believe.”

“But so many reporters have asked just who the president voted for, I guess I have to make it clear. For months the president has said he supports John McCain for president and of course he voted for him,” Perino’s e-mail said.

In 2000 and 2004 Mr. and Mrs. Bush went to their ranch in Crawford, Texas, where they voted in person on Election Day.

The president has openly supported Republican presidential candidate John McCain, the senator from Arizona.

Perino said this week that the president remained a strong supporter of McCain despite the candidate’s increasing criticism of him, culminating with his scathing comments in Thursday’s Washington Times. (ANI)