Republican dilemma: What to do with George W. Bush?

Consider this dilemma facing President Bush, his political advisors, John McCain and, indeed, much of the Republican establishment as they look ahead to the party's national convention and McCain's formal nomination as the GOP's presidential candidate:

Should the president, a Republican serving a second term, be invited to the convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul? And if he is invited (which of course he will be) and if he attends (and few think he will not) then how does the party treat him?

That's the real question with which convention organizers and the White House -- and McCain -- must deal as they seek to avoid a picture just like this one.

It is an issue each convention faces when the incumbent is not seeking reelection. But it is even more of an issue when the incumbent is as unpopular as George W. Bush -- witness the efforts of the Obama camp to present a McCain presidency as "Bush's third term."

Twenty years ago, the handover from President Reagan to George H.W. Bush was neatly orchestrated at the New Orleans airport. Reagan had given his farewell address to the convention on its opening night, and the next day headed out of town -- with Bush the elder introducing the Bush grandchildren to the departing president, saluting him at the airport, and then heading into the city to accept the party's nomination while Reagan flew West.

Eight years ago in Los Angeles, President Clinton got out of the way -- albeit with considerable fanfare -- as Al Gore accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nod.

In the end, as Sheryl Gay Stolberg notes in today's New York Times, "Republicans may just have to grit their teeth" and give Bush a short turn on the stage -- before turning things over to McCain -- despite the view expressed by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), who said: "I don't think there are a lot of people who want to see him at the convention."

With a convention sans Bush, he said, "everybody would be better off."

--James Gerstenzang

Photo: Paul J. Richards  AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[JB]

Everybody is better off without George Bush.

[abby0802]

What to do about Bush? 2 word answer: Impeach him!

[Paul Stewart]

sans Bush generally sounds good to me..... let's not limit to the convention...

[Jeffrey]

Now that he will be a citizen again...send him to Iraq!

[Oregon4Obama]

I know.....Let the DEMS use Bush just like the GOP used Rev Wright.....

Invite him to speak and talk like a moron and put out ads saying "do you really want the next president to be associated with this guy?"

It'll be great, everytime Bush talks or trys to act his approval ratings go down, not only that, he endorses McCain or they back each other's plans...awesome

[fedupwithW]

Waterboard him.

[Jen]

I think even better would be the rest of this year sans Bush. So if they don't have to have them at their convention, why do I still have to have him as my president? They're the ones who voted for him.

A McCain presidency WOULD be a third term of Bush's. Why try to pretend otherwise? Even if he isn't embracing Bush, McCain has embraced just about all his policies.

Voters should be reminded of that, I think. If McCain wants to distance himself from Bush, he should start by showing us some different stances on the issues.

[Gwen Lebec]

The GOP should bring W. in and really celebrate! He is everything the Republican party believes in and has wanted since WWII! The only difference between him and every other Rep since Nixon is that he actually believes all their BS and he had a completely compliant non-thinking Republican Congress. We are living in and with the complete actualization of everything the Republican Party believes in. This is it, folks! It really is about erasing the middle class and returning to a ruling elite - them and their buddies. It is about modeling the U.S. after say - Saudi Arabia. Their leaders and buddies live like princes - and the rest of the nation like peasants. They raid the coffers of your tax dollars and "privatize" its transfer to themselves and their friends. Talk about a welfare society! Socialism for the Rich! This is just a stop on the road to their plan. So - vote Republican and be a happy servant.

[Wayne]

Whats the problem? Ol Dubya did everything he could for his corporate masters. Whats wrong with giving him a big welcome in public? No need just to embrace him at private fundraisers on private property. Be proud of that compassionate conservatism for the world to see!

[Joe Bachofen]

What to do with George W. Bush?
Put him in jail . . . or . . . Send him to Iraq.

The US has never had a President that has lied more blatantly, ignored his sworn duties more consistently or violated international law as flagrantly as George W. Bush.

[Steve Witte]

I presume that President Bush is a good, decent man, albeit the worst President that America has ever had. But as President, the Republicans must accord him the respect his office is due and have him at the convention - because he is a good man and because he IS THE PRESIDENT.

[Jack]

As a life-long Republican -- I first registered to vote in 1975 -- I worry that our party will spend years recovering from the disaster known as George W. Bush. I remember when our party eschewed foreign intrigue, government growth, reckless deficits, and heavy debt. Yet Bush has done a 180 from the traditional Republican platform, embroiling us in foreign conquests, ballooning the size of the government, and recklessly borrowing trillions (much of it from Communist China, no less) that will curb our economic growth until the year 2060. Our children and grandchildren will be paying for his mistakes most of their lives. I wish more Republicans would distance themselves from Bush like Ron Paul has. It's time for our party to divorce itself from the Bush legacy of failure.

[4BetterWorld]

Hmmm... I wonder how come there are still 20 odd % still supporting Bush? what's wrong with them?

[Robert Laughing]

See how deserving the son of a bush is, of IMPEACHMENT? Now, look at the cowardly, sniveling Dumpocrats - quaking in their shoes....terrified to NAIL this son of a bush. Isn't America Great? Hell NO!!!

[Sam]

Give Bush the center stage. Let him blather ad infinitum. The conservatives will lap it all up and face certain defeat in November. Go ahead, make his day!

[BOY CHIMP BUSH]

He snorted massive amounts of cocaine ... He drank like a fish...He dodged the draft....He went awol from the Alabama Air National Guard...His friends knew him as an alcoholic womanizer with a bad temper....a complete failure at business until his wealthy friends bailed him out. Yet within a few short years he was elected Governor of Texas, and quickly catapulted into the White House, in spite of losing the popular vote. He was re-elected with last minute help from "family friend" Osama Bin Laden, in spite of high disapproval ratings. He still couldn't think his way out of a wet paper bag .....and yet he's declared an endless war and instituted some of the most radical political changes in American history ...... How has He done it?

Jeb bush....go to hell.

[d]

What Republicans MUST believe...

It is very tough to be a Republican in 2007, because somehow, (through all the distortion) you have to believe concurrently that:

1. Jesus loves you, but shares your deep hatred of homosexuals, liberals, Muslims, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our highest national priority is enforcing U. N. resolutions against Iraq. (No WMD’s)?

3. "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and in-search of stock options and cheap labor moving their jobs to India, China and South America.

4. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but the men running multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all humankind without regulation.

5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're an Ambassadors son, conservative radio host, or connected to the Religious Right. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while sending soldiers into battle ill equipped, slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you someday run for governor of Texas or California as a Republican.

8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex. (The Twins wore the patch).

9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, but then demand their cooperation and money.

10. HMOs and insurance companies make profits and have the interest of the public at heart… Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

11. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

12. It is okay that the Bush family's "Carlisle Group" has done Billions of dollars of business with the Bin Laden family.

13. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him and Rumsfeld reassured him he was our buddy, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, but then a bad guy again when Bush junior needed a prop for his re-election campaign as the "war president."

14. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying about WMD existence, to enlist support for an unprovoked, undeclared war and occupation, in which thousands of soldiers and civilians die, is, somehow, solid "defense" policy in a "War against Terrorism". The search for Chemical, Biological, and Nuccccccccccclear weapons ran its course {NONE FOUND}!

15. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which should include "banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet".

16. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's Harken Oil stock trade should be sealed in his Daddy's library, and is none of our business.

17. What Bill Clinton or John Kerry did in the 1960s was of vital national interest but what Bush did in the 60’s, 70’s & '80s is irrelevant.

18. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a "spirit of international harmony". MORE OUTSOURCING PLEASE!

19. Affirmative Action is wrong, but it is OK for your Daddy and his friends (here and in Saudi Arabia) to get you to graduate from Yale without studying much, to dodge the draft in the Texas Air National Guard, Donate $1 million to Harvard Business School to gain your son’s admittance, to bail out your company Harken Oil and the Texas Rangers, to get the Governorship of Texas and then to have the Supreme Court appoint you President of the USA.

20. You are a conservative, but it is OK to spend like there is no tomorrow and run up deficits that your grandchildren will have to pay, while at the same refunding as much tax money as possible to your campaign supporters. This illogical behavior can take a toll on a healthy mind. So if a friend of yours has been acting a bit dazed and confused lately, be nice: he or she may be a Republican!
BigD/ASU86

[Robert NO longer in LA]

Steve Witte: bush II has violated so much of our Constitution , Bill of Rights, and ran such a inept, or corrupt, administration, that he deserves NO RESPECT, just loathing and contempt. It's LONG PAST DUE for ALL of us, to hold maggot politicians ACCOUNTABLE; bush is a maggot of the 1st order.... sadly, as someone wrote, the Dumbocrats are too terrified to IMPEACH the son of a bush...so why not just kick out EVERY incumbent??? I have NO respect for my Republican Party, and the Dumbocrats are SHAMEFUL! What other solution to kicking out ALL incumbents, is there. Like maggots and cockroaches, they ALWAYS survive.

[marc ireland]

The worst dictator since Hitler , he should be tried and jailed for ruining America, let's just let him go into the sunset so we can rebuild without him and cheny.. Possibly the two greatest failures in history

[jane]

american deserve yet another bush. four or eight years more will do american good. only way to wake up people in this country is to make them suffer long enough to realise that they are living in a delusional 'democratic' system. don't blame bush for what is going on...it is the stupid american that are the root cause of all their troubles. they are such a paranoid fat asses who has no brain left to think. if bush is a moron who can tricked them to go to war then america is a nation of idiots.

[bass]

mpeach him!

[joan]

Hopefully he will go down in history as one of the worst!

[Sterling Doughty]

Probably the most sensible thing to do with President Bush and his team of dysfunctional neo-totalitarians is to try them for treason. And since there is apparently room for them in Gitmo, they could relax there and enjoy being waterboarded until their trials come up, if ever. They could even become a tourist attraction and thereby help reduce the national debt...

[Sterling Doughty]

Probably the most sensible thing to do with President Bush and his team of dysfunctional neo-totalitarians is to try them for treason. And since there is apparently room for them in Gitmo, they could relax there and enjoy being waterboarded until their trials come up, if ever. They could even become a tourist attraction and thereby help reduce the national debt…

[Gwen Lebec]

Jane has a point. In a democracy we get the government we deserve - or that the majority deserve. I sure as heck didn't support this dunce or any of his predecessors who were just as evil, but somewhat smarter. However, most of the leaders of the Democratic party are more well meaning but ineffectual and cowardly. Bush and Cheney should be tried for treason and hanged - even after they leave office - since no Dems have had the guts to take them on while in office. If a Democrat had exposed the identity of a CIA agent, American would have exploded in rage. Perhaps the world will be more courageous and consider bringing them before the Hague War Crimes Tribunal. It would be the right thing to do!