Invitation to Ground Zero Was a "Non-Starter" for Bush

My thought is George W. Bush turned down the invitation to visit Ground Zero today with Obama because he didn't want to insert himself into the story, but I think there are some other issues too as explored in this article:

George W. Bush won't be at Ground Zero with President Obama Thursday in part because he feels his team is getting short shrift in the decade-long manhunt for Osama Bin Laden.

"[Bush] viewed this as an Obama victory lap," a highly-placed source told the Daily News Wednesday.

Bush's visit to the rubble after the 9/11 attacks was the emotional high point of his presidency, but associates say the invitation to return with his successor was a non-starter.

"He doesn't feel personally snubbed and appreciates the invitation, but Obama's claiming all the credit and a lot of other people deserve some of it," the source added.

"Obama gave no credit whatsoever to the intelligence infrastructure the Bush administration set up that is being hailed from the left and right as setting in motion the operation that got Bin Laden. It rubbed Bush the wrong way."

Bush spokesman David Sherzer said Bush "appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight."

Associates familiar with his thinking say Bush does not believe Obama or his handlers wanted to exploit his presence. But the tag-team idea "was for the benefit of Obama, and Obama withheld credit from people Bush believes deserved it," a source said.

Had the White House been gracious in sharing the credit for the OBL killing Bush just might have agreed to today's event, but given the way Democrat operatives were scrambling to keep the focus completely on Obama, and given the way this whole aftermath has been mishandled, Bush definitely made the right call in staying home.