Almost a Trend

Yesterday, I wrote about Bush-nostalgia in the New York Times. You can add Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne to that growing list of commentators pining for the 43rd president (one more example, and we'll have a trend!):

Perhaps I should thank the current crop of Republican presidential candidates for providing me with an experience I never, ever expected: During this week’s debate in New Hampshire, I had a moment of nostalgia for George W. Bush.

Obama can't run against Bush again in 2012. He needs a new angle, and his media allies are testing this one: the current crop of Republicans is even worse than Bush!

But, if you find yourself nostalic for some good old-fashioned Bush-bashing, don't worry. Dionne points out that the reason today's GOP is so awful is Bush's fault:

Bush and his advisers did not think through the costs or the consequences of running two wars simultaneously. We are living with the terrible aftermath of these choices, and Americans of all political stripes are understandably exhausted.

That’s why Bush nostalgia takes you only so far. The 43rd president, who might have given life to a constructive sort of moderate conservatism, instead unleashed the Tea Party furies that now engulf the Republican Party and threaten to turn Michele Bachmann, of all people, into a political giant.

Don't you see? The Tea Party isn't reacting to Obama's policies - they are reacting to Bush's!