Republicans, 62% of whom still support him, are "sacrificing" Bush.

That poor, poor Bushie. A victim of his own party's disloyalty.

DEATH WISH (CONT'D): "Recent polls have shown Bush's popularity -- which has long been in the tank with independents -- suffering significant erosion even among GOP base voters, largely due to a backlash over the president's stance on immigration."

Or maybe it's not a death wish. I noted a while back that the GOP would sacrifice Bush for the 2008 elections, and it sounds like that's what's going on.

Doesn't the term "sacrifice" here imply that Bush is somehow being treated unfairly? Remarkable -- it's as though Putz doesn't see a connection between Bush's abysmal performance and his rank unpopularity, and why those two factors -- not some Machiavellian scheme -- are causing Republicans to abandon him.

Putz wrote in August 2006:

To the GOP, Bush is a wasting asset; like Reagan at the same part of his term, he's expendable. They'll use him up, and if the best way to get value out of him over the next couple of years is to bash him, then they will.

Geez. It's just not that complicated.

The reason Republicans are forced to distance themselves from Bush (and remember -- over 60% of them still support the guy) is because he's (a) done a shitty job and (b) everyone hates him because he's done a shitty job. Not because they are scheming to "get value" out of him.

It's amazing the lengths Putz will go to avoid holding Bush responsible for anything.