During this election season, the highly unpopular President Bush has been largely seen as toxic to Republican candidates, who have tried to avoid mentioning and being seen with him. Today the Washington Post reports that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who embraces many of Bush’s policies, is also becoming a liability for some candidates, including Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN):
At several stops Monday, Coleman did not mention his party’s presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain. A poll this week showed McCain trailing Sen. Barack Obama by almost 20 points in Minnesota. And the only sign of President Bush was a Franken staffer wearing a Bush mask outside a Coleman event in Redwood Falls in southwestern Minnesota, an ever-present attempt by the Democrat’s campaign to remind voters of Coleman’s once-close ties to the White House.
Coleman has further tried to distance himself from McCain by denouncing the campaign’s use of misleading robocalls, although he later said that such calls with the voice of Rudy Giuliani were “fair game.”
Update
Last month, an aide to Coleman refused to back McCain’s health care plan, claiming only that Coleman “is aligned with Senator Coleman’s plan.”
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