The New Talking Heads, by Way of the West Wing

By Michael Abramowitz
Monday, September 8, 2008

Four years ago this past Thursday, Michael Gerson was holed up in a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, where a teleprompter had been set up and President Bush was practicing his acceptance speech for the 2004 Republican National Convention in front of a handful of his closest aides.

On the last day of this year's GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn., Gerson was scribbling some notes longhand for his column, eating a salad for lunch and talking about how relaxed he has been feeling.

"You don't have a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach all the time," he said. "I like my life. Now I can give the vague, unhelpful advice that I got for seven years."

For the White House, the 2008 Republican National Convention was notable not only for the absence of President Bush, who because of Hurricane Gustav became the first incumbent to skip his party's nominating convention in 40 years. Attending the convention were several former senior Bush aides who have crossed from the world of government to punditry, including Gerson, former senior adviser Karl Rove and former counselor Dan Bartlett.

Rove, a contributor to Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, and Gerson, a Washington Post columnist and fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, have been in the fray for some time. Now they have been joined by Bartlett, who was a commentator and consultant for CBS News at both party conventions, often paired with Democratic consultant Joe Trippi.

For Bartlett, who worked 14 years for Bush, walking the floor at the Democratic convention with a television headset on was probably the more surreal experience. "I joked with CBS that they would have to provide me security," he said in a brief interview in St. Paul. "But Democrats were very gracious." (Rove, who encountered a fair degree of overt hostility in Denver, had security at both conventions.)

Bartlett also says he got "pretty emotional" watching as his former boss delivered his final speech as president to the Republican convention, by satellite feed from the White House. In addition to making appearances on "The CBS Evening News" and CBS's "Early Show," as well as the convention special and webcasts, Bartlett said he has been participating in meetings about coverage, helping provide a perspective on how the McCain campaign might approach issues and situations. He will be helping the network through the campaign, as well as possibly through the transition and inauguration.

Despite his support for Bush and John McCain, Bartlett says he has tried to call it straight in his analysis. He termed the choice of Sarah Palin as the GOP vice presidential nomination "risky," one that could pay off or prove a "spectacular failure."

"I have been known in the past to call things as I see them, and I think I am doing that," said Bartlett, who clashed with Rove in the White House on various issues.

Of the three big Bushies-turned-pundits, Gerson has probably been the most pointed in his commentary, making clear on television and in his column Saturday that he did not think much of McCain's convention speech. (He didn't think much of Barack Obama's, either.)

McCain "set out a strong, overarching theme of restless reform -- then undermined that theme with uncreative, typically Republican policy," Gerson said in a quick posting Thursday night on washingtonpost.com. "The speech was not a flop; it was a missed opportunity. But in a come-from-behind race, every missed opportunity is costly."

Rove did not make the McCain camp happy, either. During one interview, with washingtonpost.com, he characterized the selection of Palin (along with Democrat Joseph Biden) as a decision made to help win the election rather than one to help govern if elected.

"Karl's wrong," McCain adviser Steve Schmidt shot back when asked about it by Katie Couric of CBS. "She's an exceptional governor, a reform governor."

Campaigning, but Not With McCain

Even though McCain graciously acknowledged President Bush's wartime leadership Thursday night, don't expect to see much of the president on the trail this fall. Although both sides are polite, the truth is that the McCain campaign does not think it will be useful to have the president campaigning for the party's nominee.

Asked about the president's plans for fall campaigning, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush "will be out on the campaign trail a lot this fall on behalf of the entire GOP ticket."

"You'll see him traveling as much as he can," she added. "But for the first time in many years, his name is not on the ballot, so the campaign schedule isn't necessarily comparable to the last several election cycles."

The First Lady, Front and Center in St. Paul

Although the president stayed away from St. Paul, Laura Bush was very much in evidence for the first two days of the convention. She did media interviews, made two appearances inside the hall, and attended meetings with delegates and a reception for the anti-poverty One Campaign.

Bush seems more comfortable with the limelight and more willing to mix it up politically than she has in the past. Asked by Greta Van Susteren of Fox News whether there was sexism in the media treatment of Palin, the first lady replied: "I think that might be a part of it. But I do think people will really watch themselves -- I certainly think the media will watch themselves. We certainly hope so."

While the president focused his brief remarks to the convention on McCain, the first lady mounted a fierce, if unexpected, defense of her husband's record. "Recently, you've heard a lot of politicians offer a lot of opinions. But you haven't heard very many facts," Laura Bush said. "So I thought I'd share a few with you tonight. In honor of our nominee, let's call it a little straight talk."

Bush told the delegates that her husband initiated the "most important educational reforms in a generation," empowered religious charities and launched a major initiative to provide drugs for AIDS patients in Africa.

Sally McDonough, the first lady's press secretary, said the defense of the administration came at Laura Bush's instigation. "She felt pretty strongly about wanting to set the record straight," McDonough said.

Goodbye, Gaggle

The morning "gaggle" -- an informal media briefing held at the White House -- is no more.

Press secretary Dana Perino said last week that the gaggle, which usually occurs about 9:30 a.m., will be ditched in favor of an earlier on-camera briefing, which will be moved up from the lunch hour to about 10:30 or 11. She jokingly referred to the new hybrid as "the griefing."

She said the gaggle, which began years ago as an informal huddle to sketch out the president's day, has become more akin to a regular briefing held only a few hours before the formal one. In addition, she said, an earlier briefing would make more sense because of foreign deadlines and the quickening rhythms of the 24-hour news cycle.

"I think the original intent of the gaggle was a great one and worked for many years, but the model is just not necessarily the best in a modern era," Perino said. The switch began Friday, when she started the daily briefing at 11 a.m.

The Presidential Tourist

President Bush broke off from his stay at Camp David last week for a little sightseeing Friday, visiting the battlefield at Gettysburg with unidentified friends. One reason for the trip was to tour the $103 million visitor center that is supposed to open this month.