Tom Davis

Today is the Virginia primary. Candidly, it is also the first time I have voted in the Republican primary since 2005. (I voted for Amit Singh, but if I lived a few blocks over, the Gerry Connolly-Leslie Byrne food fight for the Dem nod in VA-11 looks pretty tempting.)

More often than not in Virginia, the GOP primary is meaningless. Many high-profile races, like the Jim Gilmore squeaker over relative unknown Bob Marshall for the Senate, are decided by nominating conventions.

Virginia also does not have party registration. The only way they know who you are is which party's primary you voted in. Because I have availed myself of the opportunity to select the opposition's nominee and have not voted in the (meaningless) GOP primary while living at my current address, I only get Democratic mail and door knocks.

The hue and cry for the GOP to file for divorce against President Bush is reaching a crescendo with Tom Davis’s acid-tongued barbs and this more gracefully worded column by 2004 Bush campaign advisor Peggy Noonan.

Davis and Noonan mean well, but their proposed strategy amounts to taking the Democrats’ bait. Because whether the GOP decides to run for Bush or against him, the meta-narrative will still be about Bush. Any day people are reminded of the President in a political context, even when our people are throwing him under the bus, is a bad day for Republicans.

President Bush is a lame duck. His term expires in eight months. Politically speaking, John McCain is the leader of the party. Bush’s term will overlap that of the 111th Congress by a whopping 17 days. Why should Republican Congressional candidates take the bait by positioning themselves vis a vis someone who will be a political non-factor once they take office? If they embrace President Bush, it’s political poison. If they make a fuss of distancing themselves, it guarantees headlines with Candidate X and Bush in close proximity, and looks politically motivated. Don’t take the bait.