The Orange County Register is urging President Bush not to seek re-election in an editorial today.
The piece, titled, "Stand down, Mr. Bush," says the president has "failed every bit as much as that last notable failure, Jimmy Carter." It cites as evidence Bush's "aimlessness" and his broken pledge not to raise taxes.
The editorial follows a blistering attack on Bush on Thursday's Register editorial page and a similar suggestion made earlier this week by national columnist George Will.
K.E. Grubbs Jr., the Register's editorial and commentary director, said the editorial comes now "because we finally came to the conclusion that it's simply time for Bush to stand down.
"His doing so now would open the convention to a new generation of Republican leaders who understand the principles of economic freedom more than he does," said Grubbs.
Grubbs said the newspaper does not endorse candidates, but "we always applaud when someone steps down from power willingly." Republican Rep. Bob Dornan, who represents the Garden Grove area in Congress and is a Bush supporter, said the increasing number of conservative voices calling for the president's resignation from the ticket are misguided.
"I just know that's the message of the day to sell newspapers," Dornan said. "Bush is finally starting to come out of the corner. He needs to be punched in the face and smell blood a few times before he responds."