Bush Jr. on supporting the Party Candidate

[Guest HvyMtl]

Bush: “I probably won’t even vote for McCain” | Westminster Blog: The latest on UK politics | FT.com

“I probably won’t even vote for the guy [McCain],†Bush told the group, according to two people present.“I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me.†[McCain added for clarification]

Of course the Brit Media did not understand the concept. They assumed he would have endorsed Obama if asked. Incorrect, the "they" in the quote is the GOP. The Republican Party asked, if not pressed him, to endorse McCain. Even though Bush did not think McCain was the right guy, he endorsed, as he was the party's candidate. So, if Obama had been the Republican Candidate, Bush would have endorsed him...

Points to the power of the party over the candidates.

[Smith]

It was tongue in cheek, of course he wouldn't have endorsed Obama. This isn't much of a story or surprise as it is fairly common and expected for the sitting president to endorse the party's candidate. It's a big chess game for the parties and alo tof people get endorsed that they don't particularly like. This last election seems to be a breaking point for some of that. We saw that the Rep didn't back Miller, Angle, O'Donnell and the Colorado guy (among others) to put money towards California and some other lost casues. Maybe the worm is starting to turn.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That's the problem with the Republican Party right now. They took what the Tea Party

gave them and refused to accept the message. That will hurt the party until it is purged of

the elites. If it continues, you will see the Tea Party replace those elites until it is what it

should have been all along. McConnell is doing damage. Demint is taking on an entrenched

establishment, but I think he will win. The house is seeing the same problem.

The Democrat Party hasn't really begun to purge its progressives. They haven't learned

the lesson, yet. They are too far entrenched in their ideology. Instead, they purged their

moderate base, and that will kill them off if not reversed.