Under the terms of the twenty-second amendment , Bush was ineligible to seek a third term in 2008 . Senator John McCain won the 2008 Republican primaries , while Democratic senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeated Senator Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic presidential nomination . Obama 's victory in the Democratic primaries was due in large part to his strong opposition to the Iraq War , as Clinton had voted to authorize the Iraq War in 2002 . McCain sought to distance himself from the unpopular policies of Bush , and Bush appeared only by satellite at the 2008 Republican National Convention , making him the first sitting president since Lyndon Johnson to not appear at his own party 's convention
2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
Presidency of George W. Bush