George W. Bush is indisputably a lame duck at this point in his presidency. There is not a lot of news coming out of the White House these days because the president becomes less and less relevant every day.

It seems that the people discussing the current president the most are those seeking to become the next one - at least on the Democratic side. Within the president's own party, the silence is deafening. How - and if - the candidates talk about Bush, on both sides, says a lot about their campaigns - and neither side does it particularly well.

It is easy to forget that only eight years ago, Bush was a promising young governor with record-breaking campaign funds and positive buzz in the media. He won the 2000 election over Al Gore largely because of his pleasant demeanor, optimistic and hard-working attitude, and widespread appeal among Hispanic and suburban families.

Republicans rallied around him to lead them into their first instance of unified government in decades. After Sept. 11, Bush's approval ratings were at 90 percent, his war in Afghanistan was going well, and the country trusted him.

Six years later, that is ancient history.

Bush's approval rating hovers around 30 percent. Democrats use "Bush" as an expletive and an excuse to demonize his entire party. Republicans lost their congressional majority thanks to Bush's Iraq policy, and they keep their distance from him as much as possible.

Today, the president is largely out of the news as the race to replace him takes over the headlines. A pariah in his own party and reviled by the opposition, it is not easy to be George W. Bush nowadays.

Every presidential election is inevitably about the policies of the sitting president, and this race is no exception. Democrats clearly feel they have the advantage, and their leading candidates hammer away at Bush on the stump.

Hillary Clinton is the queen of Bush-bashing. In order to bring back memories of the good old days when her husband was in charge, Clinton repeatedly brings up the failings of the Bush administration.

Her charges include: George W. Bush messed up this war, and George W. Bush does not care about American workers. Many of the issues on her platform contain the phrase "for six long years," insinuating that our foreign policy, working families, and environment had no problems under her husband.

Barack Obama does not shy away from speaking negatively of Bush, but takes a slightly different strategy. His recent speech in Des Moines, Iowa began with a Bush reference: "[Next year], the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot … the question you're going to have to ask yourself is, 'What's next for America?'" Obama mixes Bush criticism with a focus on the future.

Whether angry Democratic primary voters will go for this message remains to be seen. Most telling about the Democrats is the way they use Bush as an insult. Earlier this summer, Obama accused Clinton of being "Bush-Cheney Lite" for her reticence to meet with U.S. enemies in diplomatic talks. News that Clinton's campaign planted questions in an Iowa town hall meeting drew this response from John Edwards: "That's what George Bush does." Ouch.

One might expect the president's own party to stand up for him, but that has not been the case. Instead of the war in Iraq, most GOP candidates would rather speak of the evils of "radical Islamic jihadism" - that great, shadowy threat that scares Americans into voting Republican. There has been no acceptance of the failures of the Bush legacy, only tangential references.

At this point, it is a political death wish to associate oneself with Bush. He is too unpopular. However, all the major Republicans support the Iraq war and the surge.

All the Republicans would extend his tax cuts, and approve of his conservative appointments to the Supreme Court. None will truly break with Bush policies, but they all refuse to talk about him.

A mature, comprehensive, unbiased look at the successes and failures of our 43rd president is missing from this race and from American political dialogue. As a result, in 2008, American voters will have a choice to make.

Insults or ignorance?


Joshua is a Heights staff columnist. He welcomes comments at jdarr@bcheights.com.

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