At the South Carolina state GOP convention today, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “used his remarks to embrace President Bush, just hours before he was to meet Bush at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.” But when Graham first mentioned Bush’s name, the GOP crowd stayed silent, refusing to applaud the President:

At his first mention of Bush’s visit, Graham paused, waiting for applause. When it didn’t come, it took a slight nod from Graham to prompt a round of applause.

“President Bush is my friend,” he continued, “and I’m not going to run away from the friend.”

Graham credited Bush with preventing additional attacks on the U.S. since 9/11, cutting taxes three times and successfully nominating Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“History is going to judge him a lot better than everybody thinks,” Graham predicted.

Graham, who is facing a primary challenge in the state, has tried hard to tie himself to Bush, even featuring the unpopular president in a TV ad. (HT: Jonathan Martin)

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) affections for President Bush are infamous. At the 2007 State of the Union address, she gripped onto Bush’s shoulder until he gave her “a kiss and an embrace.” In September 2007, she also claimed that the President tried to “embrace” her at the scene of Minnesota’s 35W bridge collapse. But in a speech to Republicans in Rochester, MN, yesterday, Rove told of one incident where Bush insulted Bachmann:

The Texan delivered a few Minnesota comments, like…the time when he was with Bush and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. The president told her to “take off those stupid pink gloves.”

Watch a portion of Rove’s speech here.

Dana Goldstein reports from the Hillary Clinton rally outside the DNC meeting:

That’s not to say the rhetoric wasn’t a tad overheated. Dozens of people said they wouldn’t vote for Obama if he prevails. “Count me now, or don’t count on my vote,” read the sign carried by Cindy Malzan, a 51-year old from Buffalo, New York. “No.”

It seems to me that it’s one thing if Clinton backers from upstate New York want to argue on behalf of Clinton backers from Florida and Michigan that delegates selected in those states’ illicit primaries should be seated. But it’s really a bit bizarre for Malzan to be acting as if someone is casting doubt on the validity of her vote. Nobody is dispute Clinton’s right to her delegates from New York or California or any other state where the won a properly conducted primary.

Meanwhile, people who are seriously drawn to Hillary Clinton’s plans on health care, climate change but also think they might vote for John McCain in the fall rather than the candidate with plans that are very similar to Clinton’s are being a bit confused. People who are seriously drawn to Clinton on feminist grounds but are considering staying home in the fall so McCain can replace John Paul Stevens with another justice in the mold of Alito or Roberts really need to think harder.

With his approval rating hovering around 30 percent, Vice President Cheney nevertheless went to Virginia yesterday to rally conservatives around the Bush administration. The Virginian-Pilot reports that he urged state Republican activists “to promote the Bush administration’s policies during campaigns for this fall’s presidential and congressional elections.” Some highlights from his speech:

On the economy: “Republicans believe that when Americans are facing tough times, the first thing we should do is let them keep more of their own money. That is why the President proposed and signed a stimulus package with immediate, direct relief to the American taxpayer.”

On energy: “Our administration has worked with the Congress and the private sector to try to increase the efficiency of cars and trucks, to promote alternative fuels.”

On Iraq: “The work goes on — and our strategy in Iraq, with a surge of operations that began more than a year ago, is succeeding. The only way to lose this fight is to quit.”

Cheney is grasping at his last straws. Although he said, “President Bush and I look forward to helping our candidates, up and down the ticket, throughout this very important election year,” it’s not clear that conservatives really want their help. Both Cheney and Bush have been raising less money and attracting smaller crowds than they used to.

There’s good reason for conservatives to reject Bush and Cheney’s advice. After all, 75 percent of the American public disapproves of how Bush is handling the economy. Twenty-three percent of the public blames Bush for high gas prices — putting him just behind the top culprit — oil companies, at 35 percent. And on Iraq, which Cheney also touted, 67 percent disapprove of the way the Bush administration is handling the war.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans, an all-male organization dedicated to preserving the “true history” of the Civil War period, is currently constructing what they say will be the “world’s largest” display of the Confederate flag in Tampa, Florida — a 30-foot high and 50-foot long flag atop a 139-foot pole. John W. Adams, a co-chair of the Confederate Veterans’ Flags Across Florida project, insists the flag isn’t about racism or slavery. “It’s about honoring our ancestors and about celebrating our heritage,” he said. “It’s a historical thing to us“:

[Douglas] Dawson, the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ Florida commander, said he knows a giant Confederate flag flying 24 hours a day over two of the Tampa area’s busiest roads will cause controversy.

“We can’t do anything but explain to people what the truth is,” said Dawson, of Pensacola. “If they don’t want to accept that, they’re closed-minded, and Jesus Christ couldn’t change it.”