by Tom Walsh

Created on: May 05, 2008

The office of the President of the United States commands respect. You don't have to like the person holding that position, but you must respect the Presidency. Of the forty-two men who have held the office of President (Grover Cleveland held this office twice in non-consecutive terms making him the 22nd and 24th President), many have been vilified for personal and political reasons; however, Americans do not believe in disrespecting the office.

In the spirit of this tradition, George W. Bush will waft across the nation, enunciating his "bushspeak" with the ever-present smirk, articulating the Republican gospel according to the power-brokers that still remain in the party infrastructure. Bush, after all, is the hand-picked candidate of 2000. He has "led" this nation for eight years. Unfortunately, he has set a new benchmark in low favor-ability ratings. His tenure has already influenced the 2008 election, which is why we have the "change" candidacy of Barack Obama and a maverick republican nominee.

He will be a low-key factor appearing mostly in the die-hard red states where the welcome mat is still put out for him. McCain will be balancing himself on the tightrope, keeping a safe distance from Bush, but short of repudiation. Bush will be free to go on the attack, if needed, against the eventual Democrat candidate. Any accolades at the convention and during the campaign will be toward the Presidency he happened to occupy, not the man. Bush has been a good soldier, if not, seemingly, a puppet figurehead.

Republicans know how to win. They have held the office of the Presidency for twenty-eight of the past forty years. The Bush presidency has brought them down a peg. However, you cannot count them out yet. You never know what bag of tricks they may have. And, even though McCain is not in the mainstream of strict Republicanism, they may warm up to a McCain presidency. After all, any Republican is preferable to a Democrat.

Meanwhile, George W. Bush's influence this election year is perceived as negative. The war in Iraq is still an issue, although second to the economy. We still smart from the loss of international prestige and leadership. We are haunted by the slow response to Katrina and incensed by corporate welfare and tax cuts for the wealthy. We are apprehensive over the environmental miscues. The list goes on. What the future lays in store for his post-presidency is an enigma. One thing we know for sure, he won't have the Office of the Presidency to cushion him.

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