The 2008 Republican nominee will be forced to ask himself the question: "Do I run as another Bush or not?". Some may be quick to say "NO!", George Bush is regarded as the worst president in history and has 30% approval ratings, but don't be too quick to say no, its not as easy of a question as one may think.
President Bush still is favored and liked by 75-80% of all Republican voters. If the nominee distances himself from Bush, he risks alienating himself from his own party, and you cannot win an election without the support of your base. At the same time running a Bush-like campaign would almost certainly ruin the chances of the nominee gaining any significant independent support and virtually zero support from democrats. And as I've stated before, a presidential candidate has to have broad appeal to win an election. When it comes down to it, it will be a difficult choice for the nominee to make. We already see Fred Thompson, who has yet to officially enter the race, run a similar campaign that Bush ran in 2004. We see Mitt Romney trying to distance himself from Bush, yet at the same time complementing him. Mike Huckabee has tried to separate himself from Bush, saying that he is not a part of the "old republican party", an obvious reference to Bush. Then we have Guiliani who while rarely mentioning Bush's name, his foreign policy has been described as "Bush on steroids". Its a situation where the nominee is going to have to find a middle-ground, a way to appeal to the Bush lovers and the Bush haters, for the Republicans won't be able to win in '08 without the support from both those factions. It is the old case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't!"
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