In an interview with “Fox and Friends,” to be broadcast on Tuesday morning, President Bush extols the Republican vice-presidential nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as an “inspired pick.”
The chat was filmed after the last Tee-ball game at the White House, where Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade talked to Mr. Bush about the G.O.P. race and the ticket that will succeed him.
According to limited excerpts sent along by Fox News, Mr. Bush said of Governor Palin: “I find her to be a very dynamic, capable, smart woman who, you know, it really says that John McCain made an inspired pick, to me.”
As for her qualifications, (remember that Mr. Bush was governor of Texas when he ran for president in the 2000 campaign), he added: “Well, she’s had executive experience, and that’s what it takes to be a capable person here in Washington, D.C. in the executive branch.”
And on the apparent question of Mr. Bush’s limited role in the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain and at the Republican National Convention, where his appearance was canceled and shifted to an 8-minute video address because of Hurricane Gustav, the president said, “I don’t feel left out.
“It’s interesting to observe the race. You know, sometimes I long to be out there campaigning, but everything comes to an end.”
The role of the president, whose unfavorable ratings have reached extremely low levels, on the campaign trail, has been circumscribed to mainly big fund-raisers. And he was barely mentioned last week at the St. Paul gathering, in what seemed to be an effort to distance his presidency from the McCain campaign at a time when Democrats worked in overdrive to pain the McCain bid as “more of the same” or “McBush.”
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/bush-on-palin-an-inspired-pick/