I first started wondering this a couple of weeks back when during an interview with a reporter, Bush mentioned his plans to bring Social Security privatization back to the forefront next year.
Then all of the sudden, the most unpopular president since Richard Nixon holds two press conferences in as many weeks, when he infamously known for not having very many of them.
So I started wondering, is Bush trying to throw this election to the Dems? Here's what I came up with.
Follow me below the crease.
Bush, and the Republican Party leadership actually want the Democrats to take control of congress. Why?
Iraq.
Bush has decided and announced that the troops would not leave Iraq "on his watch." He's painted himself into a corner with this war, and has finally realized that there is no way for him to attain his goals of a democratic and free Iraq.
Democratic control of the congress would force his hand to change course. He wants this. He doesn't want to face up to having made a plethora of mistakes. It also allows him to blame Democrats for losing the war. But very few will buy that.
Why else would he be putting his unpopular mug all over the TV leading up to the election. Republican candidates across the country complain everytime he opens his mouth about Iraq. Now you hear that the GOP is giving up on a good many races across the country. They want to lose enought seats to lose control of congress, but keep it close.
This strategy also makes for defusing Iraq as an issue for the 2008 elections. Any Republican supporting the occupation still in 2008, who wants to be President will get shellacked. They need the Democrats to win to solve their problems. To clean up their mess.
I've also read other diaries here that have suggested a economy taking a huge dump next year. This would also give Republicans an argument about Democrats and the economy.
Now ofcourse, many of these strategies depend on Democrats playing into the evil GOP games. The Dems will hopefully forsee these attempts and thwart them.
As much as the Bush Administration is corrupt, I really believe that these guys feel that these past 6 years are as much as the country can handle without crumbling. It's a cowardly move, but it is finally Bush raising the white flag, secretly admitting defeat.
The bad news is this though. If I am wrong about the above, then the only other reason Bush would be doing what he is doing is because they're stealing this election too. And they can then say that he "rallied the base" to win the election.