Bush, McCain and the body (language) watch
President Bush and John McCain will have an opportunity today to repeat one of the more bizarre scenes from the 2004 presidential campaign.
After some delicate negotations between the two Republican camps back then, McCain agreed to throw himself full-force behind Bush -- much to the delight of the president's re-election team. The Arizona senator even signed on for some joint appearances.
So it was that they found themselves sharing a stage one summer's day in Pensacola, Fla.
McCain, after lavishly praising Bush's pursuit of the war on terror, gave a hug to the man he had battled royally with for the GOP's 2000 nomination. Bush responded with a peck to McCain's temple.
When McCain arrives at the White House's North Portico at 9 a.m. (PST) today to officially receive Bush's blessing as the party's choice to replace him, a pool of photographers will be on hand. And no doubt each will be hoping for a repeat of that '04 show of affection.
It probably won't happen; indeed, in light of Bush's approval ratings, McCain likely will make sure it doesn't. Still, their get-together will offer a reminder of the strange twists ...
the political road can take.
There was no love lost between the two men following the 2000 race. And during Bush's first years in office, McCain was a frequent burr in his side.
But they reached their smoochy accommodation in '04 because it served both their purposes -- Bush wanted to attract the independents who admired McCain; McCain wanted to win points with party regulars.
McCain can still use Bush's help in shoring up his credentials as a true-blue Republican. And for Bush, McCain stands as the one candidate he truly can count on to push a policy in Iraq that has caused such discontent.
-- Don Frederick
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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Whoohoo! Whata photo op. McCain makes a pit-stop aboard his flip-flop talk express bus (Over-stuffed with Lobbyists) to shake the hand on the ONE person that could actually worsen things for him politically. Just like the last major endorsement, from a bigoted religious zealot, now he picks up another endoresement travesty. McCain = Bush third term. What i like about the afforementioned equation is it has been so much fun to watch this man gravel to his right wing base to get the nomination and get through the convention without them turning on him like a pack of Hyena's, only to attempt the imppossible and convince voters he is a moderate in time for the general election. Hilarious.
Posted by: Penny k | March 05, 2008 at 10:50 AM