Bush endorses McCain candidacy
WASHINGTON – Eight years ago, their rivalry came to a head in South Carolina when George W. Bush put an end to John McCain’s presidential ambitions. Now, they are standing together, with McCain the nearly anointed Republican nominee and Bush the most prominent endorser.
Bush gave the Arizona senator a political boost Wednesday just about when McCain would want it: eight months before Election Day.
Given the public’s low opinion of the president, Democratic and Republican political operatives said, the further from the election that endorsement took place, the better. And with the race for the Democratic presidential nomination still competitive, what better time than when attention is focused on Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama?
Bush delivered unstinting praise for McCain just as he undid the senator’s emergent campaign in 2000 with unstinting attacks that undercut him among South Carolina conservatives.
Standing on the edge of the White House Rose Garden in late winter sunshine, Bush praised McCain’s “incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance” in fighting back from political near-death last year.
“That’s exactly what we need in a president: somebody that can handle the tough decisions; somebody who won’t flinch in the face of danger,” the president said, jumping ahead of himself to say: “He’s a president, and he’s going to be the president who will bring determination to defeat an enemy and a heart big enough to love those who hurt.”
Bush never used any variation of the word “endorse,” and it fell to McCain twice to thank Bush for “his endorsement.”
McCain brought up the 2000 race, saying that they once again would be on the campaign trail together in “only slightly different roles this time.”
Bush and McCain spent about an hour in a private lunch in the dining room adjacent to the Oval Office, eating hot dogs. McCain said the two discussed overall campaign strategy, after heading to the dining room without a pause to try out the desk chair.
“I didn’t measure the drapes,” he told reporters later.
“It was a very pleasant conversation, and I appreciated the allocation of his most precious asset, which is his time,” McCain said.
Making the rounds of the party hierarchy one day after sewing up the nomination, he also met with the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan. The question going forward, however, is just how much of Bush’s time will the McCain campaign want to use?
In the most recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, conducted from Feb. 21 to Feb. 25, 62 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Bush’s job performance and 34 percent approved – raising questions about how much good he can do for McCain.
“Bush’s endorsement is a two-edged sword. It certainly helps with the Republican base. On the other hand, it doesn’t give any advantage to McCain with the independent voters, who seem like the decisive vote this year,” said Kenneth M. Duberstein, White House chief of staff during the 1988 campaign when Vice President George H.W. Bush won the race to replace President Reagan.
It is unclear whether the McCain campaign will use the current president to raise Republican donations out of the spotlight, to visit Republican districts to build enthusiasm among conservative allies for the Republican ticket or to speak at public rallies in swing states – a course that might too closely identify McCain with him.
In the Rose Garden, Bush acknowledged his own low standing with voters and said he would do whatever would help the senator – including campaign against him. “If my showing up and endorsing him helps him, or if I’m against him and it helps him – either way, I want him to win,” Bush joked.