Squirm, baby, squirm

The election cycle has entered a transition period, from the silly season to the schadenfreude season. Remember 2004's great GOP smearfest here in NYC? Well, 2008 is looking to be somewhat less upbeat.
“It’s a very delicate situation,” said Brian Jones, a former communications director for Mr. McCain’s campaign who also was a top communications strategist during Mr. Bush’s 2004 run for re-election. “Even though the president is the president, this is going to be John McCain’s convention, and you want it to be about John McCain and what his presidency would be.”

Translation: "We're really, really need to convince American voters that John McCain isn't just Bush 2.0."

In St. Paul, Mr. Bush will speak on the convention’s opening night, said Dana Perino, the White House press secretary — a tiny bit of news from an administration that typically keeps a close hold on the president’s schedule. The White House and the McCain campaign said the details were still being worked out. But one Republican close to Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the president would give “an important speech” but that a joint appearance was “highly unlikely.”

Translation: Team McCain doesn't want the president there because any further Bush/McCain photo ops will find their way into DNC campaign ads.

Most Republicans say Mr. Bush should play whatever role Mr. McCain wants him to. Some, like Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, simply wish Mr. Bush would keep out of it, though few would say so openly.

“I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to see him at the convention,” said Mr. Rohrabacher, who is especially irked with Mr. Bush for his stance on immigration. He said the president “should stay home from the Republican convention, and everybody would be better off.”

Translation: Bush was held up as the avatar of everything that made the party winners winners WINNAHS!!!!! Now, he's political kryptonite. But hey, it's easier for the Republicans to blame Bush than to blame their own stupid policies.

Can't wait to see if they invite Zell Miller back. Say, where is Zell, anyway?

(Via Fact-esque.)

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