By Erin McPike
DES MOINES Iowa -- Former aides to President Bush have taken to the airwaves to admonish Rick Perry for his comment that Texans would treat Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke ugly" for printing more money in the next year -- but criticism from those sources might be music to Perrys ears.
Democrats hope to paint Perry as the second coming of George W. Bush whose approval ratings were abysmal when he left office. At the same time Perry is already trying to distinguish himself from his predecessor as Texas governor and the Bush circles commentary might help him do just that.
Within a day of Perrys comment about Bernanke Bushs chief strategist Karl Rove appeared on Fox News and called the remark unfortunate."
You dont accuse the chairman of the Federal Reserve of being a traitor to his country and being guilty of treason and suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in Texas -- thats not again a presidential statement" Rove said.
Tony Fratto a highly respected former Bush official took to Twitter to say much the same thing. And Fratto and Rove werent alone; plenty of establishment Republicans with ties to the Bush White House echoed those sentiments privately.
Theres just one problem: It doesnt appear as though the GOP establishment has learned much about the Tea Party an amorphous group of movement conservatives who dont like being told how to think by the establishment.
Witness this comment on Twitter by Dana Loesch a high-profile Tea Party activist who often appears on CNN: I will lose respect for the Perry campaign if they walk back the Bernanke remarks one inch." They didnt; Perrys aides said simply that he is passionate about fiscal issues.
Whats more Tea Partiers have said repeatedly that they were nearly as turned off by President Bush and his administration several years ago as they are by Democrats in charge of Washington today. If the Bushies" are already attacking Perry it may help separate the new candidate further from the 43rd president and lend him more credibility with conservatives.
A former strategist for Mitt Romney who is close to Bushs circle suggested that the Bush crowd is nervous about how the former presidents legacy will be treated publicly with a surging Perry in the race. The strategist said the Bush team ought to relax agreeing that their criticism will only elevate Perry and win him more attention.
Its easy to see why the Bush team is concerned. In 2007 Perry said that Bush was never a fiscal conservative and today he touts himself as the ultimate fiscal conservative.
Whats more the Perry campaign is not missing an opportunity to distinguish their candidate from Bush in other ways. Perrys wife Anita said this at an event in Cedar Rapids on Monday: A woman asked me today at the fair she said Tell me the difference between him and George W. Bush. Theyre both Texans. And she said Do you think Rick would be as good a president as President Bush? And I said Well maam he would be better. Hes my husband. "
And Perry himself told CNN that he had a markedly different upbringing than Bush did which helped define him. Hes a Yale graduate; Im a Texas A&M grad" Perry said Monday.
The Texas governors top advisers have long maintained that there is no feud with Bush or they chalk it up to staff rivalries. Perrys chief of staff Ray Sullivan said to RCP: The Bush issue is exaggerated in my view. The governor and president have a good relationship. A number of our senior staff worked for George W. Bush."
But he continued President Bush is not running for reelection. President Obama is. Governor Perry is running to defeat President Obama."
