JEB MAKES IT CLEAR: YOU WON’T HEAR THE BUSH NAME FROM HIM

John Ellis Bush, aka: "JEB!"

 

 

Jeb will try to run from his family name and his family’s wealth.

 

Well, the big question has been answered.

Is Jeb Bush going to run away from his brother, his father and his last name?

I think that since only his mother was at his presidential announcement and his father and older brother weren’t, since his campaign only uses the name JEB, with an added exclamation point and no last name, that question has now been answered.

The question was raised early on in 2012 when Mitt Romney was running that some people were concerned that with all his long-term wealth, Mitt would be unable to communicate with the average American.  And after Mitt’s negative comment against 47% of the American public, that question was eventually answered in the affirmative.

At least with Bill and Hillary Clinton’s wealth, they weren’t always in that situation of “being in the money”.  Both Bill and Hillary came from modest Arkansas backgrounds and they both worked hard in making it through college and eventually becoming successful in business and then successful politicians.

But on the Jeb side of the equation, upon Jeb's birth, his grandfather was a wealthy sitting US Senator and Jeb began his life being born into what is sometimes called “American Aristocracy”.  John Ellis Bush then went off to boarding school at Andover.  He vacationed with his future president-father, his mother and future-president brother,at the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Not exactly what one would call the average American family.

It is going to be an interesting campaign for watching Jeb’s attempts at keeping his brother at arm’s length and in trying to not insult his presidency.  Jeb has already, four times, had a family problem as he tried to explain whether he would, or would not have gone to war in Iraq.

And this isn’t the first time Jeb has used his single name in an election campaign for avoiding his last name. The current “Jeb!” logo for president is the same logo Jeb Bush used in his Florida gubernatorial campaigns. 

 

With all the Mexican music at the latest introduction event, Jeb tried so much to present himself as just another outsider that also supports minorities.  But this Hispanic theme was all mainly because his wife is Hispanic and all of his children speak fluent Spanish.  Jeb also learned years ago how important the Hispanic vote is in Florida.

But how this candidate, that wants to be the third Bush in the White House, thinks he can sell himself as an outsider is way beyond the pale.

Clinton, on the other hand, in her kickoff rally over the weekend, just had “hillaryclinton.com” on the lectern.  She only mentioned her husband near the beginning of her speech, and she received the former president onstage for a hug.  She made a point that she wasn’t the youngest presidential candidate, but she said she would be the youngest woman president ever.  She also made it clear that she was proud that they had both worked hard for years in obtaining their overall success.

Bush’s appeal to the Republican Party is mainly based on his premise that he is the only one that can beat Clinton. He promotes that he was a proven vote-getter in his home state of Florida, which the GOP probably feels would give them a shot at winning the presidency.  This is possible, but it will also require a candidate who is light on his feet. Unfortunately, so far Bush has been a seriously stumbling candidate that doesn’t look like his heart is really into it.

He has said that he will be running hard everywhere, but Jeb doesn’t seem to present that position in an energetic fashion.

Now Jeb must convince the Republican Party that none of the other Republicans running should still be considered as the one to defeat Clinton. Bush’s massive fundraising advantage will obviously help as his super PAC is expected to come close to raising $100 million.  But these days, any candidate who manages to recruit a supportive billionaire can stay in the race pretty much until the end, regardless of the polling results.

And about the latest polling, in a recent Iowa poll, the Des Moines Register showed Bush tied with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for fourth place.  And Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and the bazaar political novice, Ben Carson were leading the way for the GOP candidates.

Today, Gov. Walker and Sen. Paul, seem to demonstrate much better chances for winning in Iowa than Gov. Jeb Bush.

Still, in the national polls, they do indicate that Bush has as good a shot at the nomination as anyone. He has been shown to be smart, he’s experienced and deeply informed about domestic policy issues especially in public education. In his past Florida campaigns, he was a skillful and indefatigable campaigner, but that was more than a decade ago and so far, he hasn’t displayed that high level of energy.

The reality is that eventually, Jeb will have to make uncomfortable decisions about his father’s and brother’s presidencies if he seriously hopes to convince anyone that he is, as he says, “his own man”.

His logo may say Jeb!, but both he and the American voter knows that his last name is “Bush” !

Copyright G.Ater  2015