CNN

Duh, Bush isn't in the race, Bubba. Put down the beer and pay attention.

WE HAVE ALL BEEN TRYING TO AVOID BUSH

" a presidency that was lame duck until a national tradgedy occured " hendrick greenville nc,,,,,,, President bush was in office less than a year when terror hit the USA Hardly enough time to label a president lameduck don't you think ? History is important and as "the surrealist fort myers florida" says,, history book text will be written and based on reality and outcomes, but also facts. the legacy of this war and what it did or does to shape the world in the future will not be known for years. The USA has always stood with freedom and should never be afraid or become to PC to our ONE true and just quality. It is not enough to "GET BY" the next 14 months and consider that good enough. 20 years from now the world will look different than today, history books will have recorded George Bush's time as president and what effect it had on this country and the world. The one and only sentence any of us can count on being written at this point is,, " he stood the course of freedom "

Bush has lost all relevance to the nation. If we can get through the next 14 months without a new war we would have done well. GOD be with us.

The sad thing about Mr. Bush is: he was unprepared and unqualified to be President. Through the years–he has finally been able to ween himself away from Cheney, Daddy, and others. Just when he is finally ready to stand on his own and lead....nobody wants him. Along comes Hillary–stomps his butt, and the Democrats regain the White House as well as Congress. Sorry George, you should have stayed in Texas. Your legacy will be pretty nasty depending on which history book you read–because unlike your "War on Terror", the war in Iraq, foreign and domestic policy–those texts will be based on reality and outcomes. Have a nice day!!!

Had CNN chosen questions about Bush the candidates would have answered those questions. Instead CNN chose questions about the RedSox of all things like that is going to sway voters.

If the candidates aren't asked questions about Bush why would they discuss him during a question and answer session?

I dont' think the Candidates ignoring Bush should be surprising. The WORLD ignores Bush and has been since 2004.

Why would any Republican Candidate want to admit that Bush is a Republican! I think given Bush's Record, Speech impediments, lack of – intellectual aptitude, international diplomacy, leadership skills, human capabilities, humanitarian interests, compassion, defunct strategies, even his family wouldn't use him for a reference!

So what's the Surprise?

They want people to forget that Bush claims to be a conservative Republican when he clearly is not. Many of these guys are questionably conservative on either fiscal or social issues.

Why shouldn't they–all the rest of us are.

There is not a dime's worth of difference between the two parties. The only candidate who is advocating real change and hope for rescuing this faltering country is Ron Paul and CNN largely decided to make sure that was left unknown.

With Bush's record as president who in their right mind would use Bush's name for anything..the economy is screwed, oil prices has skyrocketted with no end in sight, Bush is a true republican do nothing for the people...he could have tapped into the reserves to lower prices at the pump...you would think the feds would build or make the oil companies build more refineries thru out the country to lower prices for gas and oil for homes...all the profits these oil co. make they should be required to build refineries also.

"though there were no questions asked to the candidates directly related to George bush ",,,,, We at CNN would like to hear from any one who would like to bash our sitting president anyway they see fit. Even if you have to make somthing up, please !!!!!!!

Of course they ignored Bush....who wouldn't be embarassed to admit they knew him and supported his criminal actions.

CNN asked the questions dugggghhhhhh!
The answer period was shorter than the questions being asked. Liberal are really a joke and try to find anything to bash someone over. You can wash your socks liberals but in the end they still smell. Hillary is on the way to Mars after tonight. See DraftHillaryforMars.com cooming soon.

I'd like to see where he said that.

Aj-

Your "only look forward" attitude is exactly why history repeats itself. If we ignore the past, how can we learn from it?

More specifically, ignoring candidates' connections to past mistakes eliminates telling information about them.

Of course they stay away from Bush because of his low approval ratings, but they had a great time ganging up on Hilary!

It's funny how the Republican candidates just assume Hilary will win for the Democrats. They want her to win so they can continue to use her as a punching bag like they did in their 30-second YouTube spots.

Bush told the media that Hillary would make a good president, I don't recall Bush saying the same about any republican.

Only look forward, never look back? What kind of sense does that make? The Republicans have no problem recollecting and emboldening the name of Reagan but they can't remember the name of the guy whos been in office the past 7 years? I'm not sure why the Republicans arent on stage bragging about the fantastic work our commander and chief has accomplished in his two terms. A presidency that was lameduck until a national tragedy occured. This administration took advantage of that to run with their own agenda. Invading a country based on innaccurate and false intelligence. Leaking the name of a CIA agent. As well as doing an utterly thorough job at dragging the United State's credibility and respectability through the mud. In 2000, the last years Clinton was in office, our country had a surplus of $236 billion. After many $630 billion dollar tax cuts later, and a war that we spend about in 2004 our country stood at a deficit of $413 billion. I could go on and on but what the point... but, bemind me again, what is this about only looking forward, never looking back?

They won't condemn Bush either (except for Ron Paul). They are afraid to condemn him because many in their party still revere him despite the disaster Republican rule has brought.
Whatever subject is ignored is THE subject that ought to be most discussed.
A candidate's opinion of how the years 2001-2006 went (the years Republicans ran the executive, the judiciary and both houses of congress) is the DEFINING issue.
Without understanding or learning from the recent past, we are bound to repeat mistakes and not move forward.

No need to mention bush. they all act like they are distancing them selfs from him. yet they are all willing to carry on just like him.

Bush is the worst president ever, defying true conservative values that he ran on. He's the biggest big spender, worse than any liberal democrat, by unending military interventionism overseas. While trying to spread democracy by military force in other countries, he seriously damaged our freedom at home by signing the Patriot Act and spying on American citizens. He takes our best border security guards and sends them to Iraq to protect their borders. He supports amnisty for illegal aliens.

The only candidate who offers us real change is Ron Paul. It's unfortunate that he is regareded as a dark horse. He's the only true conservative who deserves the presidency. None of the others promise to bring our troops home and build a more effective, COST effective foreign policy. STOP the INSANITY America. Vote Ron Paul!!

We should all remove Pres. Bush from this debate. He's not running for President. Only look forward, don't look back.

The candidates ignore Bush just like the American people will ignore the Republicans in the next presidential election.

The Republicans realize that President Bush is not on the 2008 ballot unlike the Democrats.

They also tried to ignore Ron Paul too. They'll have plenty of time to wish they hadn't when they lose.

Why shouldn't they ignore Bush, he has ignored every American for almost eight years now.

They don't have to say his name they agree rubber stamping everything he has done for over 6+years.

Bush didn't come up in the debate because questions wern't asked about him. And he does not represent the republican party in my eyes.