GOP still haunted by George W. Bush?

Although conservative critics (like Jeb Bush) say they're tired of hearing Barack Obama blame George W. for the economic mess, the public still believes the Bush years are responsible for the current situation (the Gallup poll showed 68 percent lay the blame on Bush, while 52 percent lay the onus on Obama).

Douthat ended his piece with this devastating critique:

This is the simple reality of presidential politics in 2012. Americans don’t want to give the White House back to the Republicans because they remember the Bush era all too well. If they continue to be disappointed at the polls, conservatives will eventually recognize this problem, and grope toward some sort of solution. Until then, the fault for their party’s underperformance will lie not in the stars or the structure of our society, but in their own stubborn selves.

In the current Newsweek, center-left columnist Peter Beinart also referred to Bush in his column. The sub-head reads, "Why Dubya will decide the winner this fall." Beinart wrote that in 2000, after eight years of Bill Clinton, Democrats had a double-digit advantage when it came to who Americans felt more favorably towards. Then:

When George W. Bush was elected, presided over catastrophes in Iraq, the financial system, and the Gulf Coast—and the GOP’s public image nosedived. Democrats haven’t maintained all the good will they racked up in the Clinton era, which isn’t surprising given the lousy state of the economy. But neither have Republicans rebounded much from their Bush-era collapse. And the result is a Democratic advantage, especially among rising demographic groups like Hispanics and the young.

Beinart wrote that John McCain couldn't exorcise the "Bush ghost" in 2008, and so far neither has Romney. In part it's because Romney hasn't been able to define himself, something his campaign acknowledges. This is why the last night of the RNC was devoted to positive testimonials of the nominee, followed by a classy biographical film on C-SPAN that impressed most viewers.

What most people will remember from the last night of the RNC is Clint Eastwood. He was followed by Marco Rubio and then Mittens, who definitely came off as what Beinhart called a, "generic Republican." Which is a problem, he wrote, because when Americans think of generic Republicans, they think of George W. Bush.

One day, a Republican presidential candidate will exorcise Bush’s ghost. But most likely, he or she will do so by bluntly telling Americans where Bush’s presidency went wrong, and how their presidency will be different. Until that happens, George W. Bush will be present at every Republican and Democratic convention for years to come, whether anyone invites him or not.