Rove refuses to even use Bush's name in Newsweek piece

My friend Marc discovered a very weird little tidbit in the middle of Karl Rove's first Newsweek article (he and Markos, the owner of lead blog DailyKos, are now contributing writers to Newsweek). In discussing how the GOP candidate can beat Hillary in the general election (assuming she wins the primary), Rove says the following about Bush's low approval ratings:

So show them who you are in a way that gives the American people hope, optimism and insight. That's the best antidote to the low approval rates of the Republican president.

The Republican president? That's an odd way to describe George Bush, especially when you spent the last 7+ years as a top aide to George Bush. It's a cold, calculating, distant phrase. It paintfully avoids using Bush's name, and it even implies that Rove is distancing himself (and therefore the candidate) from the Republicans as well - by saying "the Republican candidate" it's almost as if Rove is implying that the Republicans are another party that he and the current GOP candidate aren't connected to.

Rove's most important lesson on "How to Beat Hillary (Next) November" is in what he doesn't say: Stay far away from George Bush and the Republican brand.