George Bush Raises Millions for John McCain
The Barack Obama campaign sent me a (general) e-mail pointing out that US President George W. Bush has raised $3.5 million for Republican nominee John McCain this week “behind closed doors.” According to the campaign, no cameras were allowed into the room nor objective observers.
“[T]he two were only captured on film together at the airport — even then for just 27 seconds as they got into a car to be whisked to the exclusive event,” the e-mail reads.
The campaign concludes:
A pattern is emerging. McCain is going to extraordinary lengths to conceal the fact that at the very foundation of his campaign — its policy positions and now the money driving it — is George W. Bush.
Although I am not a fan of George W. Bush nor of John McCain, it has to be said that the statement quoted above is somewhat misleading. Yes, Bush is supporting McCain, but McCain is no Bush policy wise, nor is Bush the only - or even the main - fundraiser for the Senator from Arizona.
Both are from the same party. As such it’s logical that Bush tries to raise as much money as possible for his successor.
On the other hand, the Obama campaign is right in so far that McCain and Bush are most certainly working together, even though McCain does his best to hide their connection. McCain knows that Bush is unpopular, and that if he and Bush are considered to be one and the same, he stands no chance of winning in November. On the other hand, Bush is still a good fundraiser, especially when dealing with the conservative base of the Republican Party.
The relationship between McCain and Bush is difficult: the former needs the latter when it comes to votes and fundraising, but he can’t associate too much if he wants to convince moderate and independent voters to vote for him later this year in the general election.
Obama and McCain are virtually tied in national polls right now, which is why Team Obama does the obvious; it’s trying to convince the American voters that a McCain presidency would be nothing more (or less) than a third term for George W. Bush.
To accomplish their goal, both campaigns have to lie, conceal and twist.
It will be interesting to see how this aspect of the campaign develops in the coming weeks and months.
