Let’s say that the Iraq surge continues to show signs of success and that enough of the American public is willing to see the project through without a withdrawal timetable. President Bush’s approval numbers rise from their Trumanesque depths to, say, 40%, and the Bush name isn’t quite the pejorative that it was after the 2007 immigration bill fiasco. (There’s nothing that Americans love more than success, especially if it arises from persistence in the face of a lost cause that didn’t turn out to be quite so lost.)
Given that huge precondition, Jeb Bush would be head and shoulders above all nominees for Vice President: popular ex-governor of Florida (fourth largest state in the Electoral College), experienced, rich, handsome, connected, what’s not to like? Oh yes, his name….surely he’s skilled enough to distance himself from the negatives of his relative’s administration. The likely Democratic Presidential nominee will have a similar problem, but at least in Jeb’s case the relative in question will have the good taste to stay in the background. © 2007 Stephen Yuen
2 comments:
Hi, I tumbled in here while browsing the Dinocrat archives. This is a cogent blog--but there are so many...
I regret to state that Jeb has not won my confidence. The following concerns would be serious even if he weren't tainted by his father and brother.
1. Both Bush brothers started their political careers with runs against incumbent governors. Sometime somewhere I read that Jeb was expected to win, and George was expected to lose his composure and then the election. George won. Jeb lost.
2. The statistical tie in Florida in 2000 occurred when Jeb was in charge of the Republican machinery there. Apparently JB had been completely confident of the result, which turned out to be essentially a coin toss.
3. I failed to be impressed with Jeb's recusing himself from the Florida recount. He wasn't a judge: he was governor during a crisis.
4. JB was in the thick of the Republicans' Schiavo demagoguery.
5. On immigration, JB managed to simultaneously attack the national base and seem thin-skinned or weak:
"Accusing politicians of 'pounding their chests' on immigration for short-term political gain, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that the tone of the debate had been 'hurtful' to him and his Mexican-born wife, Columba. Bush...reserved some of his sharpest criticism for conservatives in his own Republican Party, calling it 'just plain wrong' to charge illegal immigrants with a felony, as a provision passed by the Republican-led House would do."
**************
No way. I'd sooner get Hillary and cross my fingers.
Thanks, GS, for your comment. For President I prefer all the leading Republican candidates to Jeb. For Vice-President, Jeb is a ticket-balancing choice who could complement many of the nominees. But the stars would have to be aligned (Iraq not a disaster) for his scenario to be plausible, so I'm not wedded to the argument. Besides, he may not want to run.
As for Hillary, if only I could believe that her tacking toward the center on Iraq was based on principle rather than how many Red State votes she could peel off, I would vote for her. But I can't.
Post a Comment