Thanks the ping, Mia. Interesting post, hehe!
Rush discussed this in the little bit I caught today -- a caller also wanted Bush meet the naysayers head on, not ignore or avoid challenges and misstatements by the left. We've certainly been burned by "nice" Republican candidates. That's why we loved Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, who was not afraid to call evil and wrong when he saw it.
Observation: when the Bush/Cheney train came through liberal NE Ohio a few years back, the crowd was as excited to see, hoot, and holler for Cheney as it was for Bush; this was confirmed in conversations.