Watch for House Republicans to start trying to link Bush, Obama, and Congressional Democrats to the economic crisis. The new strategy, from an internal memo, is to acknowledge that the recession is largely Bush’s fault and claim Democratic policies have exacerbated the problems.
“Given the role of government policies in creating the conditions for the housing bubble which caused the financial crisis, it is remarkable that the prescription of the Bush Administration and the Democratic Congress was more government intervention in the economy,” it says. “The Obama administration has not missed a stride.”
While this is a bold claim, it may work. The public primarily blames Bush for the recession, but they are not overwhelmingly pleased with Obama’s handling of the economy. It will be interesting to see how hard Republicans pursue this talking point and whether it works.