Bush Redux?

Being called a warmed over version of George Bush is getting under McCain8217;s skin

In his speech tonight in Louisiana 8211; the kick-off, of sorts, of the general election campaign 8211; McCain took overt steps to distance himself from President Bush. In the process, he revealed, however vaguely, that the attacks he8217;s been receiving at the hands of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party are proving politically irritating.

8220;You will hear from my opponent8217;s campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I8217;m running for President Bush8217;s third term,8221; McCain said.

From there, the presumptive Republican nominee pivoted to a list of issues on which he has shown resistance to the Bush White House. The problem, however, may be that the record isn8217;t entirely clear that there is distance between the old and the new GOP standard-bearers.

There is ample evidence that the Senator was a great cheerleader for both the president and his policy. 8220;No one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have,8221; McCain himself declared in April 20088230; 8220;I think the situation on the ground is going to improve. I do think that progress is being made in a lot of Iraq,8221; he had said in December 2005.

But the Senator did hit on some policy points that could prove poignant attacks against Obama. 8220;No problem is more urgent today than America8217;s dependence on foreign oil,8221; the Senator declared. 8220;Senator Obama voted for the same policies that created the problem. In fact, he voted for the energy bill promoted by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, which gave even more breaks to the oil industry. I opposed it because I know we won8217;t achieve energy independence by repeating the mistakes of the last half century. That8217;s not change we can believe in.8221;

But these points are far fewer and far between than McCain would like to acknowledge. Nowhere in his speech, for instance, does the Arizona Republican touch on tax cuts, judicial philosophy or social security reform 8212; all areas in which McCain8217;s progressive critics point out, he is in line or more regressive than the soon to be departing president.

Excerpted from an article by Sam Stein in 8220;The Huffington Post8221;