Ed Kilgore compares Jeb Bush’s prospective presidential campaign to Fred Thompson’s. This seems both cruel and all-too-accurate. Of course, Jeb has the advantage of a much greater network of support, but Thompson didn’t have to contend with the legacy of an idiotic brother. Thompson arguably was a more conformist conservative than Jeb, too.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Thompson didn’t have to contend with the legacy of an idiotic brother
Maybe not, but his brother does.
nah, Jeb’s got at least one advantage:
“Good evening. I’m Fred Thompson. How about a round of applause people? Your damn hands broken? … I entered this horse race a little later than many of my opponents. And well, frankly, that really isn’t paying off. I thought that when I announced that I would immediately be the frontrunner, but instead since my announcement, my numbers have been going down faster than Larry Craig in a Minneapolis washroom. … Some people say it’s because I’m lazy. … How badly do I want to be your president? On a scale of 1-10, I am about a 6.” –A “Fred Thompson” impersonator on Saturday Night Live
I like the last line, “he’s a comfy old sweater.” There’s no snark I can add to that.
Very good a like this….
The PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) Diet Information
Jeb will work harder than Thompson by a factor of 10.
But that won’t be enough – because of his idiot brother.
The shadow of Bush 43’s presidency may be providing false comfort. As soon as people hear Jeb talk, they’re not likely to confuse him with his brother. Rick Perry may actually have more of a problem in that respect.
Another way Jeb can move the conversation away from his brother is to encourage a narrative about his father, who is viewed sympathetically by many.
If 41 were to pass in the next few years, I would expect sympathy to intensify, but in any case I think we can expect to hear a lot about the elder Bush: How he was perceived as a moderate within his party, how he ably managed the disintegration of the Soviet Union and a multilateral coalition against Iraq, how different he seems from the negative image of Republicans today, etc.
This narrative could be useful in positioning Jeb in the popular imagination as his father’s rightful heir.
How he pardoned traitors to save his own skin?
Thompson was a joke the first time. Jeb sounds rational so we are looking at Clinton-Bush in 2016.
The more things change the more we become irrelevant.
I’d be slow to crown either Bush or Clinton at this juncture…