REPORT: GOP Candidates Run From Bush Record

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/04/reagan-bush-debate/


REPORT: GOP Candidates Run From Bush Record


“Bush’s overall job approval among all voters has been declining since before he put his hand on his family’s bible and took the oath of office for the second time,” writes the New York Times. “In mid January 2005, it was 49 percent among all Americans. In a Times/CBS News poll in late April of this year it was 32 percent. It has been hovering around 30 percent since February 2006.”

As a result, Bush affiliations have become baggage for his allies. Just as they did earlier this year at the CPAC conference, the Republican presidential candidates last night ran from President Bush’s record, going to great lengths to avoid invoking his name.

President Bush’s name was invoked by Republican candidates only once during yesterday’s 90-minute debate, in response to a question about Scooter Libby’s pardon. By comparison, Ronald Reagan’s name was cited 19 times.

The breakdown:

Ronald Reagan mentions: 19 times

Giuliani: 5
Romney: 3
Brownback: 1
Hunter: 2
Huckabee: 1
Thompson: 3
McCain: 3
Gilmore: 1

George W. Bush mentions: 1 time

MATTHEWS: Let me go to, Senator — do you think Scooter Libby should be –
BROWNBACK: Let the legal process move forward, and I’d leave that up to President Bush. And I think he could go either way on that.

Both Jeb Bush and George Herbert Walker Bush were invoked by the candidates as often as George W. Bush.

[liberal N proud]

1. They all need to be tied to bu$h as they are part of the regime

They can't have it both ways. Support chucklenuts on Monday, deny him on Thursday, sorry boys, once tied to a demon, always tied to him.

[BOSSHOG]

2. They prefer a dead murderer to a drug addicted military deserter

Great choice gop. Tell us how much it sucks to be you.

[wyldwolf]

3. they can run but they can't hide

Interesting to see several news outlets reporting the GOP candidates are running away from the Bush record. I would take great joy in breaking it to them that most people are not going to notice.

I don't believe buying TV airtime 24/7 between now and Nov. 2008 to make their case that they are not Bush would be enough to erase 8 years of Republican incompetence from the public's mind. The GOP will lose an even bigger share of the Independent vote in 2008 than they did in '06.

The very fact that the lot of them have (R) next to their names will, barring a miracle, doom them next year.