Aside from his curiously brief and equally bizarre pre-recorded speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday evening, complete with ill-timed pauses for audience reaction (um, it's 2008... why not deliver it live?), George W. Bush officially became an afterthought in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clearly, the president's approval ratings (if you'll pardon the oxymoron) also reflected the opinions of his own party's delegation.
Don't believe me? Just add up the total number of references to the name "Bush" from each prime-time speaker during the last three days of the RNC--the "Bush Name Drop Count" if you will:
TUESDAY NIGHT
Laura Bush: 1 reference (when mentioning her husband's involvement in relief efforts for Hurricane Gustav)
Fred Thompson: 0 references
Joe Lieberman: 0 references
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Mitt Romney: 1 reference (when mentioning W's fight against terrorism)
Mike Huckabee: 0 references
Rudy Giuliani: 0 references
Sarah Palin: 0 references
THURSDAY NIGHT
Lindsey Graham: 0 references
Tom Ridge: 0 references
Cindy McCain: 1 reference (when mentioning how honored she felt to stand alongside First Lady Laura Bush in support of Hurricane Gustav relief efforts)
John McCain: 1 reference (again, mentioning Laura Bush)
That makes a grand total of four times the word "Bush" was uttered at the podium in three nights of prime-time network coverage. And two of them were about Mrs. Bush.
Actually, McCain did refer to the current president twice--just not by name, merely as "the current president", as if he were giving a sworn deposition. The man couldn't even muster up a slightly more endearing "our president", much less "our party's president". He also referenced George Herbert Walker Bush but again, not by name. Only as "our 41st president". Factually accurate, yes, but about as warm and friendly as a farm subsidy bill.
It's sad enough that the party's sitting two-term president didn't even make a personal appearance at its week-long national convention. BUT ONLY TWO NAME DROPS FROM ALL THE OTHER BIG WIGS? That is truly without precedent.
Eight years as president. Two full terms in the Oval Office. Yet the measure of the man's success is such that those who spoke at his party's national convention either were instructed not to utter his name, or came to that conclusion independently.
To tell you the truth, I'm not sure is worse.
