President George W. Bush at the NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas last week. (Courtesy of NADA) Republicans continue to blast President Obama for that auto bailout three years ago. Mitt Romney says he would have -- as he argued back in 2008 when the issue was being debated -- let the automakers go through a structured bankruptcy: sell off some stuff, downsize and so forth.

But former President George W. Bush, most annoyingly, keeps coming to Obama’s defense, saying the bailout was essential to stave off complete disaster.

He defended the move in his memoir and he popped up again last week at the Las Vegas convention of the National Automobile Dealers Association, saying he would “do it again.”

The endless round of fundraisers can get a little tedious, and clever event organizers are constantly looking for ways to liven up the canapes-and-checkbooks routine. Looks like Rep. Tom Petri’s Thursday night fundraiser will be a novel one: attendees can take a turn in the cockpit of a flight simulator.

Remember that “bridge to nowhere”? This is a flight to nowhere.

The invitation to help fill the Wisconsin Republican’s campaign coffers promises the chance to “fly the friendly skies” at the facilities on Capitol Hill owned by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Donors can live out their “Top Gun” fantasies--minus the MiG-dropping, we assume.

And the price is in line with a decent first-class airline ticket--it’s $500 for individuals and $1,000 for PACs.

It might not be as cool as that ice-driving range in Davos, but it’s better than a Wii.

The insider-trading investigation into Rep. Spencer Bachus is nothing new.When “60 Minutes” aired its segment, members of Congress professed themselves to be shocked and appalled to learn of this “insider trading” business that was going on on Capitol Hill. But as David Hilzenrath points out, the phenomenon dates way back. Like at least 140 years ago.

“How the Credit Mobilier Bought Its Way Through Congress,” one headline of the day read, Hilzenrath reports.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

And our colleague Jay Matthews tells us that GOP hopefuls former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former senator Rick Santorum are tied in one important campaign metric: Height. Both men are 6-foot-2, making them tied for tallest Republican candidate — not insignificant, Matthews says, since the tallest candidate has won 11 of the last 15 elections.

Mitt Romney at CPAC: proud to be a conservative American. (Jeffrey MacMillan) One of the commandments of campaigning: know thy audience. GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney demonstrated his mastery of this rule at this afternoon’s speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Romney, who’s struggled to convince the GOP base of his bona fides, uttered the word “conservative” or some variation thereof no fewer than 29 times.

(Associated Press) We asked, and you answered.

The entries are pouring in to the Loop’s contest to figure out what in the heck the United States should do with that massive embassy complex sitting in Baghdad, now that we’re... ahem, scaling back there.

Your thoughts for what to do with the sprawling, 104-acre property located on the scenic banks of the Tigris River, have included plenty of creative ideas, from museums to luxury hotels (paging Donald Trump) to...a car dealership.