Republican lawmakers say Mitt Romney should distance himself from former President George W. Bush.
Such a move, they say, would take away a key political advantage from President Obama, who has repeatedly suggested Romney would embrace Bush-like policies in the White House.
Polls show a majority of voters blame Bush for the ailing economy. And while Bush is not on the ballot this year, some Democrats privately acknowledge that the Bush blame factor is a key reason why Obama has a narrow lead over Romney.
Freshman Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) who rode the wave of anti-incumbency fervor into the House in 2010, said Romney should firmly separate himself from Bush’s economic policies.
“Many of us, myself included, got into politics because we were appalled at the Bush record on spending”, Mulvaney said in an interview with The Hill.
Mulvaney, who ousted veteran Democratic lawmaker John Spratt, said his party made mistakes on spending in the early 2000’s, and should be the “first ones to admit it … and to do better next time.”
Other Republican lawmakers, including those in leadership positions, admit that the GOP lost its way during Bush’s tenure when government spending spiked.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 68 percent of respondents said Bush is responsible for a“great deal or a moderate amount” of current economic woes, while only 52 percent blamed Obama.
Gallup has tracked “blame assessment” since six months after Obama took office; when 80 percent blamed Bush, and 32 percent blamed Obama. Since mid-2010 however, the numbers settled into the current range, according to Press TV.
