Bush 43 notably absent from GOP primary race

HOUSTON - George W. Bush is as hard to find in his father's office as he is in the 2012 presidential contest.

The 43d president appears in a gold-framed picture tucked into a far corner of the room, partially hidden by a Texas flag and a cabinet door. The placement, whether intentional or not, is a reminder of the Republican presidential campaign and the lengths to which former Massachusets Gov. Mitt Romney and his rivals have tried to marginalize the two-term president.

The younger Bush was an afterthought Thursday as his father, former President George H.W. Bush, met with Romney - until a reporter raised the issue.

"I haven't met with President George W. Bush. We speak from time to time," Romney replied when asked if he had sought the younger Bush's endorsement.

Reporters were forced out of the room before they could ask more questions about Romney's connection to the Republican president who left office three years ago with the nation on the brink of financial ruin.

George W. Bush has been ignored for months in the Republican presidential campaign. But his absence has been more pronounced in recent days as Romney trumpeted endorsements from the former president's father and younger brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as he spent two days courting donors in Texas.

While largely unspoken, both sides acknowledge Republicans would be best served by not reminding voters of the George W. Bush legacy of gaping budget deficits, two wars, and record low approval ratings.

In 2010, Romney gave $100,000 to the younger Bush's presidential library at Southern Methodist University, according to tax records. Romney's campaign also has benefited from Bush's top talent, including strategists Stu Stevens and Russell Schriefer, who worked on Bush's two presidential campaigns.

George W. Bush's virtual absence from the presidential contest seemed to surprise even his father as reporters visited the senior Bush's private office in Houston to watch him endorse Romney.

"Has he endorsed you?" George H.W. Bush quietly asked Romney as reporters started to leave the room.

"Uh, no, no," Romney replied before former first lady Barbara Bush cut in. "We'll talk about that," she said.

The 43d president has kept his distance from national politics since leaving office in 2009 with a Gallup approval rating of just 34 percent. His predecessor, Democrat Bill Clinton, had a 66 percent approval rating in early 2001 when he stepped down after two terms marred by a sex scandal and impeachment.

A plurality of Americans continue to blame Bush for the nation's economic struggles: 43 percent of voters said he deserved a lot or almost all of the blame, compared with 36 percent who point to Republicans in Congress, 33 percent who think Democrats in Congress are responsible and 30 percent who say President Obama is responsible, according to a December Associated Press-GfK poll.