The Romney campaign is hosting a big event just outside Cincinnati tonight, billed as a "Victory Rally" with an enormous guest list. Some of the leading names, however, have something important in common.
Not surprisingly, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and their wives will be on hand, as will Kid Rock, who'll apparently provide some entertainment. But take a look at the first six names on the media advisory:
* U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner
* Secretary Condoleezza Rice
* Secretary Elaine Chao
* Governor Bobby Jindal
* Governor Tom Ridge
* Senator Rob Portman
Boehner, of course, has been in Congress for the last two decades, but there's a common denominator that connects the next five names: they're all from the Bush/Cheney administration.
Rice was Bush's Secretary of State; Chao was Bush's Labor Secretary; Jindal worked in Bush's HHS; Ridge was Bush's Director of Homeland Security; and Portman was Bush's Budget Director.
Romney will no doubt present himself as an agent of "big change" -- a phrase he's been using on the stump this week -- but to make the claim more credible, perhaps his entourage should have fewer officials from the former Republican president?
After all, didn't Romney just say in a debate, "President Bush had a very different path for a very different time"? If so, it's curious why this Republican candidate is so eager to surround himself with those who worked for the last Republican president.