President Bush on election day: Far from the public eye

There were no lines. No finicky touch screens. There was no voting booth.

Just a cleared desk on Oct. 24 as President Bush filled out his ballot in the Oval Office and dispatched it to Texas. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said he did, indeed, vote for Republican John McCain.

It was symbolic of a quiet election season for a president who grew up in a political family, the grandson of a senator, the son of a member of Congress and president and, on his mother's side, the descendant of a president, Franklin Pierce.

Since endorsing McCain eight months ago, Bush has been seen with him only once -- and that was in passing at an airport in Arizona in late May. He spent the weekend before the election at Camp David, Md. His White House schedule Monday and today was clear of any public events.

His presence on the campaign trail was not welcome.

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo: Eric Draper / The White House

Comments

[TK]

It's a shame that the President was unwelcome and suffers from low approval ratings. While I don't agree with him on everything, I recognize that he had VERY difficult decisions to make, and he did not back away but fought hard to do what he felt was right for the people of the United States and, often, the free world.

I do feel many of his actions were hugely successful and prevented larger losses of life or commerce. Unfortunately, this country only recognizes outright, quick, and decisive victory and anything that is difficult to attain or takes time to develop is lost to our short-term mentality.

I hope he is remembered more fondly as time goes on.

[Phillip E. Banks]

The shame is not that Bush was unwelcome or his low approval rating: the shame is that no one will ever hold him accountable for the awful decisions he made in the name of the people of the United States; the shame is that his "supporters" were willing to let this administration ruin most of what sane Americans held dear for the sake of appeasing an increasingly insane, "Christian" right. Now, at the end of his term, the very people that saw him as "a man of faith" and other such blather, try to pretend that they don't even know him, or that someone else is to blame for his downfall.

[PlumHunter]

TK - Get a &^%$&^%$&^$ clue! W. is the worst thing to happen to this country since the Civil War. His ignorant and arrogant decisions have put this country in such a hole, it will be at least a decade before we get back to where we were eight years ago. I would like to forget him as soon as possible - but that would be like Europe trying to forget the Great Plague or Nazi Germainy!

[pat]

He needs to be in prison