Bush's Awkward Embrace

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Thursday, March 6, 2008

There's something about passing the torch to John McCain that appears to make President Bush very uncomfortable.

At yesterday's pomp-filled endorsement of his would-be successor, Bush came off like a man overcompensating for anxiety with manic bonhomie. Even before McCain's arrival -- when Bush literally began tap-dancing for the press corps as he waited for the Republican nominee's car to pull up to the North Portico -- the president seemed unusually self-conscious and ill at ease.

Which was kind of ironic, given that yesterday's event was far more fraught with peril for McCain than it was for Bush.

When the two men finally emerged for their joint Rose Garden appearance, Bush was rambunctious and domineering. McCain, by contrast, responded to Bush's giddiness with a rigor-mortis smile and some clear indications that he would be keeping Bush at arm's length from this point forward.

McCain stiffly stated that he expected Bush's "heavy schedule" would make the president a rarity on the campaign trail. And while he generically paid his respects, McCain said nothing to indicate that he sought to emulate his host.

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