Putting Georgie out on an ice floe

And letting him drift away...

President George W. Bush's address, made via satellite from the White House, was widely recognized as an attempt by McCain to distance himself from an unpopular administration he is seeking to change as a maverick Republican. Bush became the first sitting president in four decades to miss his own party's convention.

"Far from being the kind of unifying sendoff and baton pass engineered for Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, the evening only highlighted Mr. McCain's eagerness to get the president off the stage," the New York Times said.

The president's eight-minute address was burnished with introductory and afterword remarks from the first lady, who served up "some straight talk" to the Obama campaign by citing achievements of her husband's administration in education reform and the fight against AIDS and malaria at home and worldwide. But Laura Bush's comments couldn't hide the fact that, "the GOP showcased an endorsement from Al Gore's 2000 running mate while stuffing their incumbent president into a box. Literally. Bush's only appearance at this convention was on the rectangular screens hanging around the Xcel Arena," as TIME put it.

Wonder how many speeches Bush will be asked to do after he's done prezniting?:

George W Bush has considered life after the White House and is very interested in his legacy, reports of interviews with the author of a new book suggest.

"I'll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol' coffers," Mr Bush told Robert Draper, author of Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush.

Mr Bush says he "can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch" in Texas.

Don't know about the empty coffers, Georgie, but don't worry about your legacy. That's been set in concrete.