by Jill Zuckman
President Bush lavished praise Wednesday on Sen. John McCain, the newly minted presumptive Republican nominee, calling him “somebody who won’t flinch in the face of danger” and a man of “character and courage.”
But Democrats seized on the sunny Rose Garden tableau, charging that McCain would offer voters nothing more than a third Bush term, with policies in lockstep with the current officeholder. “John McCain just doesn’t get it,” said Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, which posted video of the pair’s news conference on the Internet.
The unpopularity of the president presents a conundrum for McCain as he moves into the general election phase of the campaign. McCain wants to unite Republicans behind him and Bush’s imprimatur is useful in doing so. But he also wants to attract independents and even Democrats, and Bush is more likely to hurt McCain than help.
“I think one thing he will have to do if he has any shot of winning this fall is put a great deal of distance between himself and George Bush,” said William Mayer, a political science professor at Northeastern University. “If he is just seen as an extension of Bush, then the Democrats win.”
Bush’s job approval rating is just 32 percent, according to the Gallup Poll. Among Republicans, however, he has a 73 percent approval compared to just six percent approval among Democrats.
For that very reason, reporters peppered the pair with questions about how much McCain really wants Bush to be seen with him.
“I hope that he will campaign for me as much as is in keeping with his busy schedule,” McCain said, adding that he would also be pleased to have Bush raising money for his campaign.
Bush said if McCain wants him to show up, he will show up. Or, if it would help, Bush said he would be against him.
“Either way, I want him to win,” said Bush. “But they’re not going to be voting for me. I’ve had my time in the Oval Office.”
(Photo of McCain and Bush by Tim Sloan / AFP / Getty Images)