Cook hears that the odds are getting better but that it’s far from a sure thing:
Perhaps because of the vacuum created by Christie’s recent stumbles, as well as other factors, speculation about Bush running has increased over the past few months. We hear from people close to his inner circle that his own interest has in fact picked up; now we are faced with maybe a one-in-three chance that he actually enters the ring. Sure, there is a lot of hand-wringing over political dynasties, but with Democrats clamoring for another Clinton, and Republicans just hoping to get a nominee who isn’t politically tone-deaf, that concern might very well be overrated. Bush is a political thoroughbred; the GOP would be lucky to get him in the race. But the odds that he will run, while higher than before, still aren’t great.
Waldman doubts that Jeb has enough fire in the belly:
Running for president is so grueling that if you don’t want that prize with a mad desperation, you won’t get anywhere. Now, it should be said that Bush hasn’t been much in the public eye in recent years, so we don’t know where his head is at. But I always got the impression that he thinks he’d be a fine president, but he wasn’t going to crawl over hot coals to get there.
Larison raises an eyebrow at George Will’s assertion that Jeb could peel off some blue states:
Jeb Bush will probably receive more than a respectful hearing inside the GOP over the next two years, and much of it will be based on the faulty assumption that he can win in traditionally Democratic states. This wasn’t true of his brother, and it wasn’t true of McCain or Romney, and it almost certainly won’t be true of him. Jeb Bush represents exactly the kind of Republicanism that makes the GOP uncompetitive in all of the states across the Northeast and Midwest that they need to be able to carry in order to win presidential elections. He is pro-corporate, pro-immigration, and pro-war, and all of these are political losers. A Republican Party that thinks Jeb Bush is the answer to its electoral woes is a party that is sure to keep losing one presidential election after another.
Massie points out Jeb’s other weaknesses:
It’s not that Jeb’s an utterly hopeless candidate. Nor, at 61, is he too old. But, still, the disadvantages seem acute. Do we really want to go through all this stuff all over again?
Granted, Hillary Clinton’s reasons for running for the Presidency (we assume she is running) are hardly any more noble. It’s about time she enjoyed her turn; about time, too, America elected a woman Commander-in-Chief. And that’s about it. An attractive combination of entitlement and identity politics. Ask not what I will do; ask instead how my historic presidency will make you feel. Vote Hillary, consider yourself a decent person. And stick one to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy while you’re at it.
What a joyous prospect. Hillary might be hard to beat anyway but even a numbskull could craft an effective advert asking Americans if they felt like electing the third President Bush or the first female President.
(Photo: By Andy Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
The Dish 