George Bush has said that after he leaves office, his first order of business will be to give a series of speeches in order “to replenish the ol’ coffers. I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75 [thousand dollars a speech].. Clinton’s making a lot of money.”

Bush’s Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area.

If the embarassing outcome of a fundraiser Bush is headlining for John McCain this week is an indicator, he’d do well to come up with an ol’ Plan B:

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center. Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside. Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event. Bush’s Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area. A White House official said the event was being moved because the McCain campaign prefers private fundraisers and it is Bush administration policy to have events in public venues open to the media. The White House official said to reconcile that the Tuesday event will be held at a private venue and not the Convention Center… Tickets to the event were to range from $1,000 to $25,000 for VIP treatment.

The likelihood that George Bush will ever officially be held accountable for his malfeasance and incompetence is practically nil. It’s more likely that, like Nixon, it will be his fate to grow old in disgrace. If so, this humiliating slap in the face — not being able to muster a crowd of Republicans in McCain’s home state — may be a foretaste of what Bush can expect after he leaves office.