With President Barack Obama telling vulnerable Democrats in Congress that it may not be best for him to assist with their campaigns, party strategists are pulling out the only card they can, which is to blame George W. Bush:
One of the most potent arguments Democrats used to capture seats in the past two election cycles can be summed up in two words: President Bush.
Now, they are being urged to ride George W. Bush’s continued unpopularity one more time in hopes of stemming losses in November.
It’s a risky gambit since that very strategy fell flat last year in the 2009 governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey. Still, armed with some promising polling data, some Democrats remain convinced that Bush-bashing is electoral gold.
“The central challenge for Republicans heading into November is to shed the Bush economic legacy, and so far they are doing that,” said Jon Cowan, president of Third Way, a moderate think tank. “Democrats have to show they have a plan for private-sector-led economic growth, and they must tie Republicans to Bush. There is still time to make that case, but it is running short.”
The problem with this is that Obama has largely dominated the media for the 18 months, taking ownership of the economy, through stimulus program after stimulus program, in the process. I’m no fan of George W. Bush, but let’s not forget the fact that Democrats have held Congress since 2007.