The Invisible and Irrelevant George Bush

As we enter the final days of the 2008 campaign, I'm struck by the almost comical lack of presence of the incumbent President. There have been unpopular Presidents before, think Nixon and LBJ at the end. But I have never seen a President as marginalized and irrelevant as George Bush is today. Remember, we're fighting two wars abroad and grappling with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. George Bush has simply vanished. I assume he still goes to the office but what he does in there is unknown. McCain doesn't even mention his name and Obama uses his presidency as a punch line. All of it is well deserved. It's too bad the new President can't be sworn in next Wednesday.