"Decision Points"?? Maybe "Bystander to Disasters" would be a better title... (White House photo).

You don’t have to follow many elections before realizing that it’s standard campaign practice to tie your opponent to a bogeyman of some sort.  As Bill Ayers or Jeremiah Wright could tell you, the tactic doesn’t always work, but it’s always tempting to strategists to give it a try.

But not since Osama bin Laden released a video just before the 2004 presidential election has a bogeyman stepped forward to help the cause as enthusiastically as this:

With the 2010 election season underway, Republicans are reportedly concerned about how the impending release of former President George W. Bush’s memoir, Decision Points, may affect the party’s success at the polls come November.

While the widely-anticipated book from Bush isn’t set to be released until November 9 — one week after votes are cast across the country — details from the text have already begun to leak out.

That’s right, and as the release date approaches, you’ll have Dubya making public appearances to pimp the book, probable excerpts in a magazine or two, and TV networks promoting interviews with the former Shrub-in-Chief.

The Huffington Post article linked above quotes ex-Bushite speechwriter Matt Latimer at the Daily Beast:

Some Republicans, particularly those most closely tied to the Bush regime, actually argue the book could help the party by reminding some voters of what they liked about Bush.

Um… yeah, right.

More likely, the ghostwritten Bush tome will be a useful backdrop to the ads Democrats are already creating that link current GOP candidates to the fallen Bush-Cheney regime.

Although I guess it would be easier to thank the guy if the Democrats were more deserving of the help.