Where's George?

By Jeff Orvis

There was a game that was popular a few years ago called “Where's Waldo?” One of the things I remember about it was you were shown a picture of many figures and you were supposed to pick out Waldo.

As this seemingly endless and often pointless Republican presidential campaign drones on, some of us who are fortunate enough to be on the outside looking in may wonder, Where's George? You remember George, don't you? He's the guy who ran for president in the year 2000 and since he couldn't decide who should run with him, he asked a guy named Dick Cheney to head up a group to do it for him. After an exhaustive search for just the right vice presidential nominee, old wily Dick had a major revelation, “Why not me?”

So with the Republican ticket in good hands, we proceeded to November. When the dust cleared on Wednesday morning following the election and neither candidate was a clear winner, we had the ultimate privilege of allowing the Supreme Court to elect our president! What a concept!

Four years later, we had the chance to do it all again. But those of us who favored the other party may have realized that it didn't matter who we put up against the incumbent, the fix was in and the George and Dick show had four more years.

Now we come to the circus of 2012. George Bush has been out of office for over three years. But he seems to be a forgotten man, in exile in his Texas home. When's the last time you heard of a two-term president being virtually ignored by members of his own party? George is more lonely than the Maytag repairman.

Recently, members of the Bush family have started to endorse Mitt Romney for the nomination this time around. Barbara Bush was the first, then son Jeb (maybe the smarter son of the family) was next and this week, dad George H.W. Bush was supposed to board the Mitt Express. Don't you just supposed that young George's people got in contact with Mitt's people and offered to endorse him and the response was “Oh, please don't do us any favors! Don't call us, we'll call you.”

It's not that the Republicans don't refer to history in their attempt to unseat the current president. Some of them, most notably Newt Gingrich, have done everything but conduct a séance to resurrect the memory of Ronald Reagan. Things were so much better when that dear old former actor was in charge of things. But it seems like everybody conveniently suffers short term memory loss if the name of the most recent past president is brought up.

A lot of us would like to forget the blunders forced on us during the Bush administration. It's too bad it took a heart transplant for the former vice president for us to be jolted back to those bad dreams.

President Obama and his crew are certainly not without fault. Things are certainly far from great. The administration has probably spent too much time and energy blaming the current mess on poor old George. It's time to man up and deal with the hand you have been dealt. To that end, things appear to be turning around.

The problem is that many voters forget just how bad the situation was when Obama took office. They may be seduced into wanting to try something else. But before they mark the ballot for another Republican president, they should realize that their guy will probably adopt more of the same splendid actions that served us so well (please note the sarcasm) from 2001 through 2008. This is not the 1980s. Reagan is long gone folks. Remember that before you decide to hand the reigns over to the elephant brigade.

Many view the Bush years as an eight-year mistake. But for the sake of the legacy of the presidency, for heaven's sake, find something meaningful for this guy to do in retirement! President Carter had his faults during his administration, but he's become perhaps the best former president this country has ever had with his work in the Carter Center. President Bill Clinton weathered some personal scandal and even an impeachment to fill out eight years. But he's emerged as another great past president with the various charitable endeavors he has tackled. There must be something poor George can do. Just don't let him near the Oval Office any time soon!