Curious George

Nobody talks about it, especially Republicans even though it is election season. The corporate media avoid it with studied efficiency. Even in Dallas, the city he now calls home there is scant evidence that former President George W. Bush resides there. I live in Dallas and in the years the former president has lived here there has been scant evidence of that fact.

Traditionally, popular former and even sitting Presidents are trotted out on the campaign trail for something known as “coattails” or their ability to attract voters for campaigning candidates. Former President Bush absence from the Republican campaign trail is a Republican acknowledgement of the damage that occurred under his administration.

Whether or not the problems were the making of the former President, the perception is that as Commander-in-Chief, anything that occurs during a President’s service, good or bad, is credited to that administration. The former President has not appeared in the news with any political commentary pro or con.

Of course, because the former President has avoided the cameras and microphones does not mean his name escaped publicizing by the Democratic Party, which traditionally is also to be expected. Nevertheless, the absence of the former President of the United States from the political arena, especially his own Party’s obvious reluctance to involve him indicates that he is considered more of a liability rather than an asset.

Not only has the Republican Party not made use of the former President, GOP candidates have noticeably distanced themselves from the one-time Commander-in-Chief. That the Wall Street melt-down and the ensuing recession started while Mr. Bush still held office is just one reason GOP candidates have shied away from including him in their events.

As I stated previously, I live in the same city where the former President now resides. Although, the former President occasionally pops up in the local news, for the most part it is as if he does not live here at all. Although it remains unspoken, it seems the Republican strategy when it comes to the former President is “out of sight, out of mind.”