The convention begins on a Monday. Should Bush speak on Sunday?

Several weeks ago, Countdown to Crawford posed this question facing Republicans planning their national convention: What do do with George W. Bush?

The dilemma is resolved -- but the question still lingers.

Yes, the president is still popular among some Republicans. One way to look at his ratings is to say he is riding a national wave of approval -- but only when compared with Congress. Another is to say that he is a few points above where Richard M. Nixon was when he resigned the presidency -- but only a few.

(By one survey, 24% of the nation approved of the job Nixon was doing, even as he headed for Marine One to give his famous farewell wave. By comparison, Bush sometimes polls in the upper 20s, low 30s.)

So the question remains: How should the Republicans showcase their two-term president, without showcasing him?

The solution, announced several days ago by the White House, is to present him to the convention and the television audience on the convention's first night, Monday, Sept. 1 -- and then usher him right out of town. He's not spending the night in Minneapolis-St. Paul. When the sun comes up on Tuesday, he'll be long gone.

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Gerald F. Seib and Sara Murray surveyed the landscape and found an ample selection of proposals, beginning with this: Minimize the potential damage he could do to the party by giving him the podium on Sunday night. We did say that the convention begins on Monday, didn't we?

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo: John McCain and President Bush. Credit: Paul J. Richards  AFP/Getty Images