The last two-term Republican president to appear at a convention was Ronald Reagan, who used his address in 1988 to give a memorable boost to then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.
"George, I'm in your corner," Reagan said in New Orleans. "I'm ready to volunteer a little advice now and then and offer a pointer or two on strategy, if asked. ... But George, just one personal request: Go out there and win one for the Gipper."
The crowd loved it.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton made a convention hand-off to Vice President Al Gore in Los Angeles. Having survived impeachment proceedings, Clinton was treated like a star, with monitors flashing images of him backstage waiting to speak. Clinton claimed credit for the strong economy and federal budget surplus that defined much his administration.
Clinton's approval ratings were about 60 percent at the time, and Reagan's were above 50 percent at the equivalent point in his administration.
Democrat Lyndon Johnson's approval rating was under 40 percent when his party was nominating Hubert Humphrey in 1968, a year when Johnson decided not to seek re-election. Johnson did not attend the Chicago convention.
Bush, with a 30 percent approval rating, poses unique circumstances for his party. With Cheney following through on a promise not to seek the presidency, there has never been a designated successor to Bush. That gave the president the luxury of governing throughout his second term by claiming he was not interested in poll numbers.
"I think people are appreciative of the tax reductions and the progress that has been made in Iraq," said Kevin Igoe, a Republican strategist and alternate delegate from Maryland.
Richard Hug, a Bush fundraiser from Maryland, said the president has "done a lot of good things for this country, and I just wish the average American was more apprised of many of his accomplishments."
Both Bush and his father, President George H.W. Bush, did a "solid job on behalf of the American people," House Republican Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, the chairman of the national convention, said yesterday.
But the administration's botched response to Katrina remains a major blemish, and is the backdrop against which Bush and McCain are now shifting their plans and striving to strike the right tone.
After McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, his vice-presidential pick, received a briefing on hurricane preparations in Mississippi yesterday, the Arizona senator said he had "every expectation that we will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated."
