Former Bush Aide Blasts GOP Field

From Former Bush Aide, A Candid Assessment Of the GOP Candidates

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 10, 2007; Page A06

A former adviser to President Bush has a brutally candid analysis of the Republican presidential nomination contest: Fred D. Thompson is the campaign's "biggest dud," Mitt Romney has "a real problem in the South" because of his religion, Mike Huckabee's last name is too hick, and John McCain could pull a repeat of his 2000 performance by winning New Hampshire yet losing the battle.

Dan Bartlett, who stepped down as White House counselor in July, gave those frank assessments during a recent speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that went unnoticed outside the room. Although he and the White House both emphasized yesterday that he was speaking for himself, Bartlett spent 14 years channeling Bush, so his views may be seen as a revealing look at the thinking within the president's inner circle.

Bartlett was harshest about Thompson, deeming the former senator from Tennessee the "biggest dud" because he has not articulated a compelling vision: "The biggest liability was whether he had the fire in the belly to run for office in the first place and be president. So what does he do? He waits four months, fires a bunch of staff, has a big staff turnover, has a lot of backbiting, comes out with his big campaign launch, and gives a very incoherent and not very concise stump speech for why he's running."

Bartlett was also tough on Romney. While crediting the former Massachusetts governor with the "best strategy and organization," he said that his perceived "flip-flopping on positions" has hurt. "He's getting a narrative in the national media as somebody that is too much trying to position himself, trying to hedge himself, almost too mechanical about the issues."

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/09/AR2007100902064.html

They were playing video of it in the first 15 minutes of GMA this morning.

We all know the biggest duds in the room where anyone talks about Republicans are Bush and Cheney.

If there were a fair election, no Republican would have chance this time, no Republican!

That being said, can we count on fair elections anymore?

:sarcasm:

Gee, I wonder if this story, unnoticed outside the room for so long, didn't gain a little currency with a friendly Post writer from a certain candidate's campaign? And how cynical has our political discourse become that not only is this a plausible thought, but I'm willing to say it's likely?

it seemed to me that the fix was in. :shrug: