At the start of this month, President George W. Bush traversed four states on a three-day swing in what seemed to usher in a hectic period of campaigning for the mid-term elections. White House officials said he would be on the road “almost constantly” and had more requests for him “than we could shake a stick at”.

A glance at Mr Bush’s schedule since then, however, suggests he has become the invisible man. Last week he had just two events for candidates. Instead he spent most of the week at the White House, finding time to pose with the US Air Force Thunderbirds aerobatic team and talk to the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention. His wife, Laura, a notoriously reluctant campaigner, had four campaign events.