Republican Image Advocacy
I really don’t like politics. The criticism of the Bush administration, which is becoming increasingly bipartisan – meaning that Republicans are blasting him now, too – what does this suggest to people? Do they think that it represents an actual ideological split? How does it hurt the Republican party as a whole to distance themselves from the positions and policies of Bush? He can’t run for President again, nor will he hold any other office. He is of no use to them after he leaves office.
So the real reason they are publicly distancing themselves from him is to ease the minds of Republican voters who now (years too late) recognize the problems with this administration. By distancing themselves from Bush they regain the trust of those voters as they put their support behind his successor. People are aware of this, right? They are aware that this whole Gonzales fiasco is just a part of the same image advocacy, right? Away from the political theatre, do people really think that these men disagree on most issues, or that they aren’t still parts of the same ideological camp? Even as I write this I know the answer is probably “no”…