The Battle Between McCain and Bush: The Cancelled First Night, The "Furious" President and the Palin Gambit

The cancellation of the first night of the Republican National Convention marks the renewal of the rivalry between George W. Bush and John McCain. Since their bitter contest over the Republican nomination in 2000, they have taken years to make peace. But now McCain's last chance has collided with Bush's legacy.

Hurricane Gustav was "a big blessing," according to a source close to the McCain campaign. Facing a Katrina level wipeout--the landfall in St. Paul of both President Bush and Vice President Cheney--McCain felt trapped. How could he prevent the President and Vice President from appearing at the convention? Only an act of God could intervene. Suddenly, a hurricane whipped up in the Gulf and looked headed for New Orleans. Like a divinely inspired miracle, a storm to blow away Bush and Cheney had been conjured.

The McCain campaign and the Bush White House negotiated terms that unfolded as a script over the past several days, several sources told me. First, Bush announced he must oversee the preparations for dealing with the hurricane. He would not be able to attend the convention. Cheney, too, would drop out. In order that Bush and Cheney not seem to have been humiliated, McCain cancelled the entire proceedings for the first evening.

Almost certainly, Bush had to cancel his planned speech while Gustav loomed. But the sources say he didn't like the idea and felt pushed. Bush is described by sources as "furious" at McCain for being deprived of his last appearance before his party, which nominated him twice, as a sitting president. He believes he is being treated disrespectfully.

Shuttering the convention for a night was probably inevitable given the hurricane, but to provide a cover-up for scratching Bush and Cheney it became absolutely necessary. But once the hurricane passed, Bush asserted his primacy as president and forced his way back on the schedule to deliver a satellite speech to the convention.

McCain is desperately seeking ways to pivot from Bush, whose in-person appearance on the first night of the convention threatened to obliterate his message as a "maverick" and "reformer." Even though McCain himself would not be onstage, Bush and Cheney would have dominated the opening and underlined continuity between their administration and McCain. The cancellation of the first night of the convention is a small price to pay for their absence.

McCain's campaign is perfectly aware of the mortal danger of Bush's embrace. He has needed the president to rally the Republican base. But once he has the nomination his imperative is to project himself as an antidote to what has gone wrong with Republicanism.

McCain's political quandary is paradoxical. Bush has broken all parts of the Republican Party, as I document in my book, The Strange Death of Republican America. McCain's emergence as the party's nominee has been made possible by its crackup, which he must transcend. The primary field fractured the conservatives, none of whom were able to isolate the others and unite the whole movement. None could do what Bush achieved in 2000, running at the same time as the candidate of the party establishment and the conservative movement. McCain historically has represented neither.

McCain's selection of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska reflected his impulse to reject Bush. As I explained in a previous article in the Huffington Post, he really wanted to name Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate, but that option was a political impossibility that would have provoked an open revolt at the convention. Karl Rove tried to manipulate McCain into choosing Mitt Romney, endorsed by almost all members of the Bush family (except the president who had to remain above the fray). Rove organized a campaign against Lieberman and other potential choices. There could be little doubt that Rove was doing Bush's bidding. But McCain, resentful of Rove's maneuvering, outflanked him with Palin.

Bush is said to be dismissive of McCain's pick of Palin, according to the sources. Ironically, he is said to believe that now he will bear no responsibility if McCain loses. The old rivalry, supposedly buried, has come back to life.

Comments

[joebaggadonuts]

Thank you Sidney for reminding us what reporters can do.

I am glad to read that Bush is willing to see McCain lose. Bush still has the levers of power in his possession. Whether it's Bush or mcCain we seem to be headed for nuclear confrontation between them and either the Russians or the Iranians, along with a collapse of the dollar based financial house of cards. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I'm having a drink to them leaving us no worse than we are now, because I have been praying the same thing for so long and it hasn't worked.

[JacklynD]

McCain was one of the Keating 5, cheated on his first wife for years, cheated on his current wife with a Washington Lobbyist, caved in to the religious right in order to garner their support... And now offers up Palin who is sarcastic, addicted to platitiudes and flamboyant. She is no different than the southern boys flying the Confederate flag.

I find it sad, pathetic really, that McCain is only reacting to the Democratic campaign. If Obama said his new campaign slogan is "We Love Pinwheels" we would hear McCain say "We Love Pinwheels More". How inspiring are the nicknames Maverick and Barracuda?

Our nation needs brilliance, creativity, diplomacy and vision. We deserve the best and brightest. McCain and Palin are simply not the kind of people we need now at this time in history.

[lange g]

It's hard to be three or four steps ahead of the game in politics. It's easy to be one or two steps behind the curve. I would love to be inside the loop on this Palin thing. I'm 55, remember events since I was 5. I have never seen anything like this. Somehow McCain hit a grand slam home run with no one on base. Maybe by this time next week, instant replay will show there was no one on base, Palin will be history as fast as she became history, maybe she will be elected the first female President Nov. 4. Hell if I know!! I rarely see things this bizarre in my dreams, and my dreams are bizarre. What planet am I on??? In this strange new world of politics,, where new rules are the rule, can Obama declare a mulligan, and go back and get Hillary???? nothing against Joe, but as long as this is a dream and a chess game and anything BUT an all American Presidential Race, What Are the rules??? If Hillary came on the board game, would McCain drop Palin, or Palin replace McCain??? Chess anyone??

[minkia]

I wish you were wrong because there is a chance McCain could be POTUS. He has abandoned most of the ideas that earned him the name maverick, he has walked back on bills baring his own name that gave him cover to say he has worked across party lines, he picked a climate change denier who favors fossil fuel to green/renewable energy, his policies are dictated by lobbyist, his campaign is run and funded by the same people who brought you Bush/Chaney down to the speech writing, he believes in privatizing government function in the name of choice and free markets. You have already seen what that does to average people, look at our health care system and what is happening with private armies like Blackwater. It's a different song but the dance will be the same, the fact is their ideas are the same and from what I have seen so far the modus operandus will be no different they just need someone to continue where they left of without having to take a break. You think the last 8 were bad? consider this, where would we be had Bush inherited the economy and geopolitical situation he is leaving us? He started with billions of dollars in surplus and a rapidly growing middle class and is leaving trillions in debt and the biggest wealth gap since the Great Depression.

[deminmo]

McCain seems to support war as does Chaney and sometimes
Bush. McCain seems to want to stay in Iraq until the war is won.
What war, and win what? Bush has never been agreeable to a time
table, even now an agreement with Iraq is contengent on conditions.
McCain seems to agree the US needs to take whatever measures
necessary to bring democracy to the world. Bush has been doing his
best for 8 years to take over the world. And by the way, we are a Constitutional
Republic not a democracy. I just don't see any difference in the two.

[Patrioticwoman]

FYI - Bush is not on the ballot, but keep running against him because on Nov. 5th, the country will be RED and in a good way. Governor palin had 37.2 million viewes WITHOUT the g reek god podium and hollywood stars to 'boost' viewership. What has Obama done lately without the padding of his entrouge?

[gigi09]

So did Obama...di­d I mention that there were 84,000+ at the stadium and some were not allowed in the area. Lest we forget, just a couple of months there were over 250,000 in Germany...­would have been more but Bush threatened the Americans that worked for the government, and they were not allowed to attend. Do you remember the 75,000 in Iowa...Oop­s that is more than the watchers of the RNC...go figure! Oh well... there goes your theory of most viewers...
Obama-Biden 08!

[royboy828]

Please use spell check before you post a comment...­. Palin needs to stop playing the sexist card and answer questions about her qualifications. She needs to be on the Sunday talk show circuit tomorrow like the other candidates. Remember "ready to lead from day one". Why is she so afraid? Really, no scripts or teleprompters, I want to see what she's got.

[chf2go]

McCain called Palin his soulmate and America - the love of his life. ??? This guy is screwed up. I'm as patriotic as the next person and my father was in the military, but my husband is the love of my life, not my country and I think most spouses would be offended to hear that other people and things are before their family. This is just another case of extreme pandering.

[gigi09]

And disrepect for his wife. Would you want the love of your life (your husband) calling another woman his soulmate after only meeting her for the second time?

[DuPageDem]

All we heard before and during the Democrat's Denver show was wild speculation about disunity. Yet the corporate media is totally silent about huge canyons which fracture the GOPers. Not only Bush/McCain and fundamenta­lists/'mav­ericks', but the Libertarian convention going on across town. Ron Paul was banned from the GOPers show. They are split in reality, not supposition, but corporate talking heads totally ignore it. Reporting on polls never mention Bob Barr, though he will skim 3-8 percent of McCain's base.

[oscartucker]

Thanks for this post. Absolutely no one has said anything about the Ron Paul Libertarian convention. It is not on any news programs. If there were some mishap, everyone would talk about it. Also, when the polls come out, no one mentions that Bahr is taking votes from McCain. Everyone says that Obama "ought to be doing better". Nothing is ever said that McCain ought to be doing better, too, but that really, McCain might not be doing as well as the numbers say.

[iblis]

Dont forget the great Nader!

[bond2]

McCain ! - great choice ! What happens if Pallin withdraws at the last minute and McCain could not get a "replacement" - nobody wants to "partner' him? Can the elections go on??? Or if McCain decides to "elope" on another wild "idea" ....... will the election then be postponed or what? Maybe Bush then, under emergency hold another term? Or Obama just be appointed the next president without an election?

How about wild thoughts like these?

Thoughts of a "maverick" !!!

[lordmi]

Palin will hold all chances with her teeth - Pit Bill, she told.
This is the one thing i trust her.

[maxfax]

McCain will be worse than Bush. Now that's a thought.

[irishgawdess]

"Bush is said to be dismissive of McCain's pick of Palin, according to the sources. Ironically, he is said to believe that now he will bear no responsibility if McCain loses. The old rivalry, supposedly buried, has come back to life."

What about your legacy shrub? Don't be so quick to bite your nose off to spite your face! You need McBush III to save your stinkin' legacy.

[Fudgefase]

No responsibility? Eight years versus a VP candidate? You're kidding.

[Bob009]

your analysis, just made me lauff . Thanks Goddess for being critical on this line. Good Night.

[sheubox]

Where is DECENCY? If McCain/Eva­ngelical/K­arl Rove have one iota of common decency, they would have stopped sayiing "COUNTRY FIRST". You kidding me!! "Country" is last thing they have in their mind. They want to win, they have only ideology.

[lordmi]

Sure,
And You know that - why they should tell?

The thing is : in general the picture is clear , sort of 47-45.
So , the battle now is for 'undecided" who mostly do not read any news, do not listen and actually do not care.
So, obama is trying to explain, MvBush - to fool.

What is the shortest way?

[deminmo]

McCain seems to becoming a much more kind and
gentler candidate. At least in his speech tonight.

[chris2fer]

They were put in office to end the war what do you expect them to do not fund the troops?

[Okieborn]

The name Palin will be stuck in the throats of Mccain and Republicans for a long long trime !!
Row Row Row your boat before it sinks !!! LOL !!!

[Velocitor]

Sarah Palin is to McCain what Harriet Myers is to G.W.Bush

[irishgawdess]

McCain did call Palin his soulmate..­.. hmmm

[lizr]

no wonder Cindy is on the road with them :)

[SKonnery]

Maybe like Hollywood she got the couch interview.

[Bitsko]

I hate to be defending Harriet Myers, but she did at least have a long record as an attorney.