Jeb Bush has certain vulnerabilities as a potential presidential candidate that are particular to him. Collectively, they could be as damaging as Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital. It could be that he just isn’t a viable contender. I’m open-minded about that. What I don’t agree with is the idea that his last name is a big problem.
It’s obviously not helpful to share a name with two former presidents, neither of whom who are remembered fondly. But the truth is that W. was an anomaly in the family. His father was an extraordinarily shady man with deep ties into the worst elements of our intelligence community. But he was also a competent president who ably managed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of the Soviet Union. He was not a movement conservative or a neo-conservative or a paleoconservative. Of all the Republican presidents since Eisenhower, Poppy is the only one I would trust with our national security. That doesn’t mean I would like his foreign policy, but I’d trust that he wouldn’t get us all killed. The closest facsimile to Poppy is Jeb. He’s literally the only person on the right who could plausibly be a commander in chief in four years.
I would expect the base of the party to be very resistant to nominating Jeb, but they were very reluctant to nominate McCain and Romney, too. You can’t beat something with nothing. And if Jeb Bush has no stronger competition than Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum, he’s a shoo-in to win the nomination.
The Democrats would naturally try to tie Jeb to his brother, but he’s really not like his brother at all. I can’t think of a Republican in the whole country who would be one-tenth as formidable as a candidate as Jeb Bush. I am certain he would have done better this year than Mitt Romney did. And I have no desire to face him in four years.
