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July 8, 2008
Posted: 05:11 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Romney remained tight-lipped on Bush's role at the convention.
(CNN) – It's one of the more tricky political tasks the McCain campaign faces at this summer's Republican convention: how to successfully present an incumbent president whose approval ratings hover at or below 30 percentage points. Speaking on CNN Tuesday, top John McCain surrogate Mitt Romney remained noticeably tight-lipped about the chances of the party's presumptive nominee appearing with the unpopular president. "You know I am not much of a choreographer, I have to be honest with you," Romney told CNN Tuesday when asked whether the two men would appear together on stage during the convention. "I don't know how convention choreography is going to work. Of course we want to hear from our president and hear his perspectives.” Watch: Romney discusses the Republican convention The White House announced last week Bush would speak on the four-day convention's opening night, presumably long before the Arizona senator touches down in the host citiy of Minneapolis. McCain will accept his party's nomination on the convention's last evening. Pressed if McCain is willing to be photographed with Bush at some point during that high profile week, Romney said it was a decision for the "political powers-that-be to decide." "But this is clearly John McCain's convention," the former presidential candidate said. "This is his chance to lay out his vision, for our party and for America, and he is certainly going to be the highlight of this convention and I'm looking forward to it." McCain has long sought to distance himself from his party's leader, and the two have only appeared publicly together twice since the Arizona senator became his party's presumptive nominee five months ago: once at an official endorsement ceremony at the White House and once before a party fundraiser in Arizona. Watch: Is McCain like Bush? Filed under: John McCain Mitt Romney Popular Posts President Bush
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