The (missing) Third Man: President Bush at the debate?

Yes, elections are supposed to be about the future. But what to make of the ongoing role that President Bush is playing in the current race for his job?

He attends no rallies. He speaks not a word about the candidates in public. And to the extent he takes any apparent role in the campaign, it is still behind closed doors, raising money for the Republican Party.

Still, he's a central figure, as noted by a number of observers in the aftermath of the second presidential debate.

CNN's associate political editor Rebecca Sinderbrand noted moments after the debate ended in Nashville on Tuesday night that John McCain mentioned Bush three times, "to highlight the policies where he parted ways with the president."

Barack Obama mentioned Bush twice as much, Sinderbrand noted. And you can be sure it wasn't in an adulatory manner.

WashPost's Dan Froomkin singled out some of McCain and Obama's unfriendly references to the president, including this one: "[There] was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney."

The speaker? Republican McCain. He voted against the bill, he noted, and Obama supported it.

Any surprise the president isn't out there doing big rallies?

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo: Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA

Comments

[Hunter]

Is it just me, or are Obama's fingers freakishly long in that picture?

[sdrdk5]

Hunter - his fingers have to be that long to grab all the money he will get when he raises our taxes!!

[Arizona]

Hunter his fingers are proportionate to his overall height. In the picture he is not standing fully upright. You can see he is roughly the same height as McCain when normally he is much taller than McCain.

[Richard]

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