Rebranding Bush

This article in the Guardian about the new Bush approach that appears to favor international diplomacy over war and multilateralism over cowboyism, contains this incisive (and appropriately cynical) comment:

"With elections 11 months away, Mr Bush does not want to be vulnerable to claims that he has presided over a warmongering strategy that has left Americans little safer than September 11 2001. His shift follows an established pattern in Washington of politicians moving to the centre during an election year."

Recall Bush's first campaign as the "compassionate conservative" and the "consensus builder"? It is the task of the opposition (among other Herculean ones) to make sure he doesn't get away with his rebranding now, because if he does and is reelected we face four years in which he has no incentive to do other than his worst, worse even than in his first four years, unimaginable as that is.