What gop president will the candidates slobber over at the next debate?

[BOSSHOG]

Surely the republican candidates will spend one of their gaggles singing the praises of george dubya bush. They each will step to the microphone and tell all how much they love the man and his policies and they will continue on his conservative vision of America. After all he is the CURRENT PRESIDENT. Would it not be rational to think that candidates would want to get as close to the man as possible, photo ops, coast to coast endorsements. Could it possibly suck anymore being a republican?

[ripple]

1. I think they'll stick with Reagan

Once he gets in, Fred Thompson will be able to exploit the Reagan-love the most.

[yellowcanine]

2. They could always trot out Dick Nixon and relive his 1972 China visit.

[Monkeyman]

3. And Make The Claim he ended Vietnam

[yellowcanine]

10. Well he actually did, remember? "Peace with honor". Of course pubbies today would say

he "cut and ran" as he essentially did what the Dems want to do in Iraq - pull the troops out. Yes he had a "peace" agreement, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before N. Vietnam took over. A "decent interval", as it were.

[Faux pas]

4. Can we pick live ones? Oops, maybe that's an oxymoron.

Never mind. ;)

[PsN2Wind]

5. Chief, you can bet your ass

it won't be Ike. His warning about the military, industrial complex killed any chance of that.

[BOSSHOG]

6. You are right shipmate, and oh the irony

Ike was the last republican president with a modicum of integrity. (Ford being a slight possible exception.)

[slackmaster]

7. They usually manage to invoke Kennedy

;-)

[Jack Rabbit]

8. St. Ronald of the Right

That's pretty much going to be their theme.

It won't be the real Reagan, but the mythological one. I wish the Reagan of their dreams had been president; we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now.

EarlG hit the nail on the head last night when he remarked about the Republicans controlling both houses of Congress for most of the last 12 years and have a sitting two-term president, but they want to talk about a president who left office almost 20 years ago.

It is probably emblematic of the state of the Republicans and of where Bush has led the country that they want to make an icon out of a corpse.

[Pyrzqxgl]

9. Rutherford B. Hayes?