Romney Not Touting Bush Endorsement

Of course, Mitt Romney’s campaign said it welcomed former President George W. Bush’s uninspiring confirmation of support through closing elevator doors yesterday. But the presidential candidate isn’t exactly boasting the endorsement as he would any other political figure—including the rest of the Bush family—not to mention a former Republican president. Even in a campaign speech today, Romney mentioned Obama’s “predecessor” but never used his name. As many observers including Howard Kurtz points out, Romney is not eager to align himself with the person who’s actually to blame for the financial mess he’s campaigning on fixing. “Polls show that more people blame him than Obama for the decrepit state of the economy,” Kurtz writes. “Romney wants to run against Obama’s record, not defend W’s.”