Bush, Rove and that “new tone” crap. Bush didn’t defend himself, and then McCain in 08 and Romney Ryan in ‘12 AGREED that Bush was at fault.
That is still kicking our behind today! I covered this thoroughly in my book.
As I’ve aged (and gotten wiser..cough...cough), I can’t believe that Bush and his admin didn’t realize it was a dumb strategy. Their continuing it could only mean the results they achieved were what they intended.
Occam’s razor