Romney slips Former President GW Bush Into Stump Speech, But Not By Name

One day following the endorsement from Former President George W. Bush, Mitt Romney slips him into his stump, but not by name and with no acknowledgment of his backing at an event today in St. Petersburg, FL.

Romney refers to President Obama's "predecessor" repeatedly, while slamming Obama for calling the $4 trillion dollar debt acquired during Bush's term "unpatriotic."

"I find it incomprehensible that a president could come to office and call his predecessor's record irresponsible and unpatriotic and then do almost nothing to fix it," Romney stated. "[Obama] said he would cut the debt in half if he became president. Instead he doubled it, alright, he doubled it," Romney exclaimed pointing to the huge 'debt clock' mounted behind him offering a real time calculation of the national debt registering over $15 trillion dollars.

"It's going to be 16 coming soon," Romney quipped.

Former President Bush's endorsement was tepid at best yesterday, uttering four words to an ABC reporter after delivering a speech on human rights in Washington, DC.

"I'm for Mitt Romney," Bush replied. The Former President's office was tight-lipped yesterday when asked for confirmation of the endorsement, responding to Fox News' inquiry with "Yessir, this is right."

Romney campaign has been equally reserved in touting Bush's endorsement, saying in a statement, "We welcome the president's support, as we welcomed his father's."

Yet, unlike the endorsement of George H. W. Bush in March, there was no photo op arranged with George W. Bush, nor was there a single media release from the typically prolific Romney 'press shop.'

When asked what level of involvement we can expect Former President George W. Bush on the campaign trail, a Romney campaign aide said in a statement, "He made clear when he left office that he was not going to engage in political campaigns and we have no reason to believe that is going to change."

Romney continues his swing through Florida this week holding events and fundraisers in Tampa, Miami, Palm Beach and Jacksonville.