by Jonathan Young

Created on: June 14, 2008

With an approval rating of 28 percent, George Bush remains one of the least popular presidents in history, staying just above Richard Nixon's lowest polling of 24 percent, and trailing Harry Truman's all-time worst rating by just 6 points. Presiding over an unnecessary war initiated with blatant lies, a series of cynical power-grabs intended to place the executive office beyond the Constitution, and a faltering economy, Bush has fully realized the expectations created by his party's fascistic theft of the 2004 election.

Enter John McCain, the neoconservative clone who wants to be perceived as a moderate. Like his allies in the White House, Senator McCain has openly admitted that he isn't well-versed in economic policy, remarking that "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," and proposing additional tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while the middle class continues to struggle with flat wage growth, record fuel costs, and increasing food inflation. Originally an opponent of Bush's regressive taxation policies, McCain has since changed his mind, rejecting his own argument that tax cuts should be postponed until the full cost of the Iraq War is known.

Also voicing support for an indefinite continuation of Bush's Iraq War, as well as the possibility of war with Iran, McCain has become one of Washington's most prominent cheerleaders for "staying the course," even as polls show a majority of citizens, soldiers, and Iraqis favoring U.S. withdrawal. Echoing Dick Cheney's remark that "You cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls," McCain in March of 2008 responded to a question about Iraq with, "We're succeeding. I don't care what anybody says."

But in spite of his support for all of the Bush administration's misguided policies, McCain must attempt to present an image of independence in order to get elected. And the best way to be perceived as an original, in Washington, is to maintain exactly the same failed policies as the previous administration while putting the blame on the opposition. So in just three easy steps, presidential candidate John W. McCheney can be free of his image as a passionate neoconservative and well on his way to taking the White House on behalf of his allies currently living there.

Step 1: Blame economic woes on others.

Under Bush, federal spending has increased at the fastest rate in 30 years, the dollar has lost half its value against the euro, the unemployment rate has

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