How Can We Kick You if You Won't Come Out to Play?

Guess who wants George W. Bush to come out of his self-imposed post-presidential isolation?

David Broder explains:

In a conversation the other day with a White House official, I heard something I'd never expected from an employee of Barack Obama's. "I wish," he said, "George Bush would speak up a little more."

In the five months since he left the presidency, Bush has immersed himself in his memoir. He has stayed home in Texas and rarely spoken publicly. The result has been that he has largely disappeared from the news and -- the point the Obama aide was making -- pretty much has been forgotten.

Bush's silence has made it harder for Obama to keep the public focused on Bush as being responsible for our present difficulties -- the weak economy, the unsettled wars, the scandals of Guantanamo and the detainee program.

Hard to keep using your favorite target when you've scatter-shot it into tatters in the public's mind, but the owner of the image won't provide you with a fresh version.

Isn't it sad how this new president doesn't want to stand on his own merits?