With the presidential election set for next year in November 2016, things are already starting to heat up in the political field especially for Jeb Bush- Yeah, another Bush. Things are especially becoming troubling for him in particular because of the nightmare that defined his brother George W. Bush's presidency: the war in Iraq. He has been engaged with questions regarding the war in Iraq multiple times and he has seemed to not give very clear answers. In his clearest declaration, he stated that "knowing what we know now... I would not have engaged.""I would not have gone into Iraq." He said this Thursday, when previously on Monday he had given some unclear support for the war it seemed. Although, what he did say was that he knows that because of the war in Iraq, the world is much safer without Saddam Hussein in power. The election may not be looking too bright for him in the future especially because of his clumsy responses and his inability to evade the mistakes and issues surrounding his brother's terms. This issue has become a significant distraction for Bush during his tour and on Wednesday he was recorded defending his brother's policies from a girl claiming "[his] brother created ISIS". However, there is still much time before the election for him to get his head straight and attempt to define himself as his own man and not a repeat of his brother.
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I completely agree with you that the next few months will be a pure nightmare for him. I think he could potentially make the clear distinction that he is not the same as his brother, but he will really need to push for this point and really persuade Americans of this if he wants to become a leading Republican in the primaries. One of the main reasons there is confusion about Jeb Bush is because to be completely blunt: He sucks at campaigning in the modern world dominated by rapid media cycles. The last time he ran for an office was over a decade ago and his campaigning skills have become quite weak and rusty, especially compared to some of the other politicians in the presidential race that currently hold seats in Congress and are fresh from midterm or other recent elections.
ReplyDeleteThe huge political backlash of going into Iraq when we had no evidence to support the existence of weapons of mass destruction hit Bush's legacy hard. Jeb needs to now separate himself from what his brother and his father did and portray himself not as another Bush candidate and politician but a man with separate views. He will always be compared to his father and brother but he needs to convince the American people that he is his own person and will make his own decisions. Many people today blame George W. Bush for increased American intervention in the Middle East and the market crash, and with a legacy like that separation is key for Jeb.
ReplyDeleteI think you guys have a good point, but are only seeing half of the issue. He needs to distance himself from his brother to appeal to voters as a whole, that is true. But there are other sides to that problem. First of all, while most citizens don't want to elect another George W. Bush, no tea-party member would vote for him if he doesn't distance himself from his father's more midline policies. Second (and most importantly), by distancing himself from his brother, he also distances himself from the corporations, whose money he'll be relying on to keep him in the race. Either he'll alienate a majority, a loud minority, or his lifeline. He's certainly got his work cut out for him.
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