In the Wall Street Journal, columnist William McGurn plunges into unchartered territory, argument-wise, asserting that John McCain's efforts to distance himself from George Bush are a huge strategic error, because McCain is supposed to be fearless, and it makes him look scared. Also, almost nobody likes Bush, but the people who do like him a lot:
"While the president's general approval ratings may be down in the 30s, among the GOP faithful the numbers are up in the 60s. These numbers, moreover, do not track intensity: The people who have stayed with Mr Bush this far have been through the fire with him. They are not likely to be excited by a nominee who makes a habit of dissing fellow Republicans like Phil Gramm, whose crime was trying to support their nominee."
No, but then again, they're surely fairly likely to remember to go out and vote Republican if an Obama victory looks to be on the horizon. And describing Bush's approval ratings as "in the 30s" is pushing it, frankly. No matter: McGurn continues:
Mr McCain seems intent on reassuring skeptics that he's no George W Bush. If he loses in November, he'll prove it.
If nothing else, the column draws attention, once again, to the fascinating conundrum of what McCain will do with Bush at the Republican convention. The outgoing president must, after all, speak. One McCain aide suggests:
...This time around Bush could just embrace his own unpopularity and say: "If John McCain had had his way, I wouldn't be here."
The Democrats, meanwhile, just launched an attack site describing McCain's vice-presidential candidate as 'the next Cheney' -- whoever he (or conceivably she) turns out to be. That seems like a somewhat pre-emptive attack, but then again, we know Cheney likes pre-emptive attacks.
Possibly relevant fact: William McGurn is a former Bush speechwriter.
