McCain Gets Bush's Backing

Presumptive GOP Nominee Says He Looks Forward To Campaigning With The President

(CBS/AP)  President Bush endorsed Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain on Wednesday, two bitter rivals from the 2000 presidential race joining together now in hopes of preventing Democrats from winning the White House this fall.

"John showed incredible courage, strength of character and perseverance in order to get to this moment and that's exactly what we need in a president - somebody who can handle the tough decisions, somebody who won't flinch in the face of danger," Mr. Bush said, appearing with McCain in the Rose Garden.

Mr. Bush's embrace of the Arizona senator as the party's next standard-bearer comes a day after McCain clinched the GOP nomination by getting the requisite 1,191 convention delegates. Republicans won't officially nominate McCain until early September at the GOP's national convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Click here for the latest CBS News tally.

"A while back I don't think many people would have thought that John McCain would be here as the nominee of the Republican Party," Mr. Bush said. "Except he knew he'd be here and so did his wife, Cindy."

With his low poll ratings and an unpopular war on his shoulders, Mr. Bush could hurt McCain with some groups, while helping with others.

"If my showing up and endorsing him helps him - or if I'm against him and it helps him - either way, I want him to win," the president said. "This is an age-old question that every president has had to answer, and there is an appropriate amount of campaigning for me to do. But they're not going to be voting for me."

"They're not going to be voting for me," the president said. "I've had my time in the Oval Office."

"It's not about me," Mr. Bush said. "I've done my bit."

Mr. Bush gave McCain a big welcome at the White House, greeting him at the North Portico entrance usually reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries.

McCain showed up late and kept Mr. Bush waiting. The president whiled away the time by dancing and joking and laughing for the cameras.

McCain said he looked forward to campaigning with Mr. Bush at his side and said the president could be helpful in states such as Texas. Mr. Bush pledged to do whatever he could - even getting out of the way when that would help.

"I got a lot to do, but I'm going to find ample time to help," Mr. Bush said. "I can help raise him money, and if he wants my pretty face standing by his side at one of these rallies, I'd be glad to show up."

"But they're going to be looking at him. I'm going to be in Crawford with my feet up," Mr. Bush said. "He's going to be sitting in behind that desk making decisions on war and peace."

McCain said he had great respect and admiration for Mr. Bush.

"I intend to have as much possible campaigning events together as is in keeping with the president's heavy schedule," McCain said.

"I hope that the president will find time from his busy schedule to be out of the campaign trail with me, and I will be very privileged to have the opportunity of being again on the campaign trail with him."

McCain's Washington visit amounted to a victory lap of sorts after a bruising 16-month Republican presidential primary. He was visiting not only the White House he hopes to occupy but also the Republican National Committee headquarters that he essentially assumes control of now that he's the expected GOP nominee.

He was essentially laying claim to the entire force of the Republican Party apparatus as he plots his general election strategy and sets in motion his campaign - and that of the party - to keep a Republican at the White House helm.

Looking ahead, McCain adviser Mark Salter told CBS News' Dante Higgins that the Arizona senator plans to incorporate the town hall meeting format, which worked so well for him in the primaries, into the general election.

“I think we’ll do a lot of other things but I think we’ll do a lot of town halls. He likes it, the voters like it,” Salter said. “Voters don’t want to just be talked to, they want to be listened to.”

For McCain, the general election campaign starts now even though Democrats still haven't chosen a candidate. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton continue a protracted battle for their party's nod, leaving McCain an opportunity to unify his party.

To that end, Mr. Bush's support sends a strong signal to GOP critics of McCain to fall in line.

The GOP's conservative base has resisted rallying around McCain, long viewing him skeptically for working across the aisle with Democrats on issues that the right flank detest.

Mr. Bush is the head of the Republican Party and he remains a well-liked figure with GOP rank-and-file. Thus, he could be an asset in raising money and rallying the GOP base for McCain.

However, his job performance rating is at a low point and he is unpopular with the general public.

[wfbdem]

Another anti-american rightwing nutjob. Why does the right hate the USA and Fellow Americans? What happened to them to feel that they have to destroy our country and her citizens.
Face it - if you are a conservative, you hate the USA

[leftyintexas]

McCain is the ONLY candidate capable of RESTORING the American Honor and Commitmant Take notee the Dem Day- Dreamers!
Posted by dumbshun at 10:20 PM : Mar 05, 2008

dumbsh--Did you mean ''Take no tee'' or ''Take no tea''?

[taotxzen]

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Bush Officials: Congress Irrelevant On Iraq

The following article, from today''s Army Times newspaper, neatly sums up the Bush administration''s "screw you" attitude toward working with Congress. One can only hope that this contempt toward Congress will finally give the Democrats the backbone to put the issue of impeachment back on the table:

Bush Officials: Congress Irrelevant On Iraq

By William H. McMichael

The Bush administration says the 2002 congressional authorization to go to war in Iraq gives it the authority to conduct combat operations in Iraq and negotiate far-reaching agreements with the current Iraqi government without consulting Congress.

The assertion, jointly made Tuesday by U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Mary Beth Long, drew an incredulous reaction from Democrats on a Joint House committee during a hearing on future U.S. commitments to Iraq.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

"It''s the view of the administration that as long as there%u2019s trouble in Iraq that you have authorization of this Congress to continue there in perpetuity and define trouble as you desire?" asked Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.

"We have authorization to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq," Satterfield replied. "The situation in Iraq continues to present a threat to the United States."

The Bush administration also feels it does not need to seek the authorization of Congress to ratify two pending agreements with Iraq: a "Strategic Framework" that would govern "normalized" relations with the U.S., and a Status of Forces Agreement that would govern the "authorities and protections" of U.S. troops in Iraq past Dec. 31, the expiration of a U.N. resolution that the administration says authorizes their presence.

4 more Years?

[waynabq]

Would you vote for someone who was a lapdog for a Chimpanzee?

[ponco seno]

I hope that the president will find time from his busy schedule to be out of the campaign trail with me, and I will be very privileged to have the opportunity of being again on the campaign trail with him. "McCain"



Sure McBUSH, I bet you really ment everything you said.

[vmcneal2]

Bush backs McCain???? And thid this will help McCain? I can hear McCain say to his people "Oh sh*t Bush wants to back me" "can I say no thanks"

[simonsez40]

McCANE and Bushit.......what a combo. I''d rather get an endorsement from Farrahkan than Bush!

[homespunlady]

And on a lighter note:

Men Who Do Housework May Get More Se x
Mar 6, 7:46 AM (ET)

By DAVID CRARY

NEW YORK (AP) - American men still don''t pull their weight when it comes to housework and child care, but collectively they''re not the slackers they used to be. The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more se x.

[homespunlady]

Ah look! It''s the Cheech and Chong of Vietnam era military pilots!

One flew bar stools in the Air Guard in backwoods USA and the other was a repeat crash test dummy.

[homespunlady]

Posted by abbe91 at 05:07 AM : Mar 06, 2008

Guess killing 167 of his fellow crewmen "as a joke" wasn''t enough.

I''m sure he''s thinking up even bigger "jokes". Can we say Bomb, bomb, bomb,- Bomb bomb IRAN?
McBush Lite - SICK JOKES are his specialty.

Bet the makers of those Jack@ss movies would LOVE his WAR STORIES.

Now I KNOW where those 4 percent of the population a recent study determined that don''t and never had a conscience have grouped - the NEOCON GOP.

[starleo146]

Posted by j-whitman at 11:26 PM : Mar 05, 2008"

And this guy wants to "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" ...
talk about Navy experience ... LOL

Posted by abbe91 at 05:07 AM : Mar 06, 2008
+ report abus

That shows you he was a know it all stupido back then it is inbread

[starleo146]

As if McSenile needed it, Shrub hammers the last nail in his coffin.....poor Neocon Nazis,....
Now all he needs is the Dark Overlord, Darth, to hand him the "Cloak of Death",.....LMMFAO,....

Posted by veteran71 at 06:17 AM : Mar 06, 2008

Good post and Mc Bush would run to him with open arms

[starleo146]

I agree...kiss of death!....what could you possibly be thinking being all kissy kissy with Bush?? This plants the seed in ALL people''''s minds that you are an idiot!..I wouldn''''t vote for you just based on that picture of you and the worst president in history!...it''''s really a no brainer...plus your rhetoric is stale, and your delivery of words is almost as pathetic as Bush''''s...you stumble/ stammer,,make one think that you''''re not smart either???

Posted by sleepyric at 07:40 AM : Mar 06, 200

You know what I see in that photo more of the same Bush and Mc Bush

[starleo146]

Couldn''''t he have waited a couple of days at least before running to the White House? Good Gawd...

He looks like the little old man at the nursing home running to a young relative saying, I ate my oat meal real good, didn''''t I? Didn''''t I?

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 09:35 AM : Mar 06, 2008

Rowdy I love your posts and you said it all so,so, true

[barryrose1]

What a display of realistic idiotism. How Surreal.(That being the uniting of McLAME and Bushwhacker.

[rowdytexan2]

Couldn''t he have waited a couple of days at least before running to the White House? Good Gawd...

He looks like the little old man at the nursing home running to a young relative saying, I ate my oat meal real good, didn''t I? Didn''t I?

[abbe91]

That says it all ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN10_6pyshQ

[huanaco]

THE EMPEROR SAYING DURING HIS MEETING WITH MCCAIN THAT HE ALREADY DID HIS BIT AS A PRESIDENT IS THE UNDERSTAMENT OF THE YEAR . HE DID THE BIG SCREWUP , HE BLEW IT , HE WAS PURE DISASTER FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD AND I CAN,T SEE HOW HE COULD HELP MCCAIN , PERHAPS THE ONLY AREA WOULD BE RAISING MONEY FROM THOSE WHO ARE RICH AND STILL HAVE MORE.

[ajaxtheleast]

REALLY, CBS, that appendage which Bush
gave to McCain was worth only ONE asterisk!

Even eight years ago when younger and
supposedly more virile and rumored to have
crawled atop a tavern bar to give his
TEN-ASTERISK performance in dangling
his ********** for the patrons they
merely looked up then continued with
their perfecting newer and better ways
to assume their stance positions!