George Bush Endorses…Hillary Clinton?

You could quite probably go blind thinking about all the machinations involved in this one:

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush gushed about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s experience yesterday – saying she could handle the immense challenges of the presidency better than any other Democrat.

The Republican president, in an interview with ABC News, said, “There is no question that Sen. Clinton understands pressure better than any of the candidates, you know, in the race.”

Bush called Clinton a “very formidable candidate” who he said understands the “klieg lights” that go with presidential politics.

But, he said, “I do believe our candidate will beat her, if she happens to be the nominee.”

Then, he turned around and slammed Clinton’s rival, Barack Obama, for promoting the “odd foreign policy” of agreeing to meet with leaders of countries like Iran without preconditions.

“These candidates don’t really understand is how complex the environment is inside the Oval Office,” Bush said.

Does Bush really want Hillary to be the Democratic nominee because he thinks she’ll be easier to beat than Obama or Edwards? Or does he realize he’s got a virulent case of political cooties and his endorsement is the kiss of death, and he’s trying to take her down a few more points in Iowa? Perhaps he thinks she’s the Democratic candidate least likely to undo his “legacy” in the Middle East (because history is gonna vindicate him, you know). Or maybe he thinks the wholesale return of the media obsession with her underwear drawer will take the heat off his little “Iraq” problem and he just wants to give her a leg up into the headlines.

The whole thing makes my head hurt.

(photo by Llima)

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