As President Bush goes to Phoenix to raise money for GOP standard bearer John McCain today, you will hear lots of media jabbering about whether they will appear in public together.
Before everyone gets on their high horses and starts accusing the media of bashing the GOP, this is exactly what we did eight years ago when Bill Clinton was watching his Veep Al Gore run for President.
Clinton wanted to help, but Gore didn't want to be seen in public with the then-President, who was weighed down by Monica Lewinsky and more by the end of his two terms in office.
"Clinton posed a dilemma for the (Gore) campaign, said the veep," that from a Newsweek story writted a few weeks after the elections.
"The Republicans were trying to drag Clinton into the race. They want to run against the president, "not me," Gore said."
In fact, the Gore hierarchy decided they did not want Bill Clinton on the stump for them in the final weeks leading up to the election. No joint appearances, nothing.
Gore adviser Tad Devine told Newsweek back then that Clinton would finish the last week by rallying black voters in Louisiana, South Central Los Angeles and Harlem.
"That's the Clinton gig," said Devine. No big rallies in the Midwest--too many easily alienated swing voters," said the Newsweek piece.
Fast forward to 2008. Take the last few paragraphs and substitute McCain's name for Gore and George W. Bush for Bill Clinton, and we might have a similar political landscape.
McCain knows that Bush can raise big money for him, but McCain also knows that GWB's dismal approval rating probably won't help him with swing voters and even some Democrats.
That's why today's fundraiser is behind closed doors and not in a public forum.
Which leads us back to the original question - will there be a picture of the two men together?
The repeated questions led to a verbal dance and some stammering in last Friday's White House news briefing with Press Secretary Dana Perino.
"Q You said several times that the President is not on the ticket. Are you seeking to distance the President from Senator McCain?
"MS. PERINO: Victoria, I'm stating a fact.
"Q Right, which we know.
"MS. PERINO: Well, okay, then, no, I'm not -- I'm seeking nothing but to tell you that the President is not on the ticket, he's not running, and you can't -- you don't expect for him to be out running for President. He's done that twice and been successful.
"Q Dana, have decisions been made on whether he will do campaign trips with McCain?
"MS. PERINO: I don't know if they've gotten that detailed yet, in terms of ramping up as we go over the next several months. So at this point, I couldn't tell you. And I'm not really involved in those scheduling discussions.
So when you watch the news tonight, or look at the newspaper on Wednesday morning, you will probably see a photo or some footage of Messrs Bush and McCain together.
If you don't, then that will be the subject of a host of stories as well.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
