1115.org

Bush has suddenly gone from “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” to “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Shamed”?

In debate after debate, Republican presidential candidates have stayed as far away from Bush as possible, to the point where his name is hardly even mentioned up at all:

By my count, the candidates mentioned the Democratic frontrunner by name 34 times, and mentioned President Bush twice.

And now Romney and Huckabee are engaged in a shouting match over who loves Bush more?

First, Huckabee had some rude words about Bush’s Iraq policy:

The Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States’ main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists.

Romney hit back with:

“I’ve been saying for months, and I think all the Republican candidates, in fact, have been saying for months, if not years, that, that following the collapse of Saddam Hussein our policy was, was unprepared, unplanned, understaffed, under-managed,” Romney said. “But it’s very different to point out the mistakes that have been made – and the president’s pointed out the mistakes as well – and then to say that the Bush administration, our president, is arrogant with a bunker mentality.”

Which made Huckabee suddenly decide he loves Bush more than he hates him:

I didn’t say the President was arrogant. … I’ve said that the policies have been arrogant. … I’m the one who actually supported the President’s surge. I supported the Bush tax cuts, when Mr. Romney didn’t. I was with President Bush on gun control, when Mitt Romney wasn’t. I was with the President on the President’s pro-life position, when Mitt Romney wasn’t.