Bush Pretends Former RNC Chairman Martinez Not a Disaster for the GOP

When our own Senator Mel Martinez tendered his long expected resignation, President Bush issued a statement which not even the most optimistic Republican activist could possibly believe:

His goal was to ensure our party had the structure and resources in place for all Republican candidates in the 2008 elections to be successful. He has more than fulfilled that mission.

I believe this to be, as you have no doubt gathered from my tone, complete hogwash.

Martinez has been miserable as chair of the RNC. The Republican candidates for President are being out raised by the Democrats to an astonishing degree and the hypothetical ticket of crazy former Democratic Senator Mike Gravel and a potted plant is polling ahead of the leading GOP contenders in head to head match ups.

Martinez was brought in to shore GOP support among Latinos, but has seen leading Republicans avoid Latino voters like the plague, no doubt for fear of appearing soft on undocumented immigrants. Martinez was brought in to shore up Florida ahead of November 2008, but polls show Democratic frontrunner, Sen. Hillary Clinton, beating all takers in the Sunshine State.

No. The only mission Martinez has fulfilled is giving Democrats hope for a clean sweep next year. He will be lucky to hold on to his Senate seat in 2010 (we are taking bets on whether he even runs for re-election).

In the meantime, the Democratic National Committee is in mourning. They know that Martinez was one of their strongest allies in their quest to win the White House in 2008. With Mel gone, there is the possiblity that someone competent, qualified, or at least not embarrassing will take over at the RNC.

On the bright side, with Martinez becoming less visible, the odds of him publicly humiliating us on any given day have dropped considerably.