@engineer,
Speaking (distantly) of the Bush patriarch, does anyone remember the Simpson's episode where the Bush's move in next door to the Simpsons and a neighborhood war ensues, ending with George and Homer fighting in the sewer. (Inspired by a Bush quote saying he supported family values to make America more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons)
Famous quotes:
George Bush: I'll ruin you like a Japanese banquet!
George Bush: Here's a little trick I learned in the CIA... (pictured below)
When a Bush has Erickson at RedState writing that he needs to take his campaign "out back and shoot it", he has to know that he is done.
538: "Yeah, Jeb Bush Is Probably Toast" (UPDATED - lots more stories on the epic Bush fail)
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/jeb-bush-cnbc-republican-debate/
Excerpt:
Bush received poor reviews for his debate performance from political commentators of all stripes (Republican, Democratic, partisan, nonpartisan, reporters, “data journalists”), many of whom also suggested that his campaign might soon be over. The straw poll1 we conducted among FiveThirtyEight writers and editors agreed; Bush’s average grade was a C-, putting him at the bottom of the 10-candidate group.
CANDIDATE AVERAGE GRADE HIGH GRADE LOW GRADE
Marco Rubio...........A-..........A............C
Ted Cruz................B+.........A...........D
Chris Christie..........B...........A-..........D
Carly Fiorina...........B-..........A-..........D
Ben Carson.............C+.........A-..........D
John Kasich.............C...........B-..........D
Mike Huckabee........C............B...........D
Donald Trump..........C...........B+.........D-
Rand Paul...............C-...........B-..........F
Jeb Bush.................C-..........B...........F
I agree with the group (I gave Bush a C-). Bush lost a probably ill-advised confrontation with Marco Rubio over Rubio’s absences from the Senate. Bush’s closing statement seemed stilted. He was the setup for a Chris Christie applause line about fantasy football. And for much of the debate, he was an afterthought, receiving the second-lowest amount of talk time among the candidates.
....
Bush’s “fundamentals” aren’t all that strong. He entered the debate with middling favorability ratings and polling at about 7 percent nationally. His endorsements have all but dried up: just two since Labor Day and none in the past three weeks, according to our endorsement tracker. His third-quarter fundraising totals were mediocre. This wasn’t a case like that of Hillary Clinton, who even at her worst moments was polling at 45 percent and had the overwhelming support of the Democratic establishment. ... Bush is running a conventional campaign. It’s not as though he has all that much grassroots support: Only 3 percent of his fundraising has come from small donors. Instead, Bush needs the support of Republican elites — and favorable media coverage — to signify to reluctant Republican voters that he’s a viable nominee. And ... before the debate, major Bush donors were fretting openly to reporters (not just swiping at Bush anonymously) that his campaign was in a potential “death spiral.” ... his problem isn’t a mere lack of “momentum”; his candidacy has always been flawed. Instead of being the most electable conservative — the traditional profile of the Republican nominee — Bush has never looked all that electable or all that conservative.
Analysis: Bush debate strategy backfires, raising new questions about his faltering candidacy
By STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press
October 29, 2015 — 9:49am
WASHINGTON — Jeb Bush sought to calm anxious donors with a comeback strategy focused on taking down rival Marco Rubio. But Bush's plan backfired badly on national television in the third GOP presidential debate.
Instead of generating much needed momentum, Bush's attack on his onetime protege raised new questions about his underwhelming candidacy in the primary contest he was once expected to dominate. And Bush's continued struggles highlight a deepening sense of uncertainty settling over a 2016 Republican presidential race that remains crowded and without a clear front-runner.
Even with an estimated $100 million in the bank, Bush headed into Wednesday's primetime debate at the weakest point of his campaign.
Just five days earlier, the son and brother of former presidents announced deep campaign spending cuts designed to salvage his floundering bid. He slashed salaries by 40 percent and shifted staff from his Miami headquarters to early voting states.
With his powerful family on hand, Bush spent much of the weekend huddling behind closed doors outlining a strategy that depended, above all else, on challenging Rubio. Bush appeared to get the perfect opportunity to test his strategy when he was positioned right next to Rubio on the debate stage.
The mild-mannered Bush mustered up an attack on Rubio for missing so many votes in the Senate. "Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work. I mean, literally, the Senate — what is it, like a French work week? You get, like, three days where you have to show up? You can campaign, or just resign and let someone else take the job."
It was the moment Bush's supporters had been waiting for. But so, apparently, was Rubio.
The first-term senator, Bush's junior by 18 years, quickly charged that Bush had praised Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has missed many votes as well.
"I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record," Rubio said. "The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."
The fresh-faced senator then pivoted beautifully: "My campaign is going to be about the future of America, it's not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage."
The crowd cheered. Bush's team did not.
Ari Fleischer, who worked in the George W. Bush administration, said Bush should have attacked Donald Trump instead of Rubio. "Mistake going after Rubio," Fleischer tweeted.
And Bush never seemed to recover from the exchange, which took place just minutes into the debate.
He almost completely disappeared for long stretches. In fact, Bush had the least speaking time of anyone in the debate, by some counts.
Despite his challenges, there is no sign that Bush is close to abandoning his campaign. An allied super PAC has raised more than $100 million on his behalf.
Yet if Bush World was worried heading into the debate, they will feel no better Thursday morning.
Rubio, who has been showing signs of momentum recently, shined for most of the night. He continues to face questions about his ability to build a national organization and raise the money necessary to support it — a problem Bush does not have. Yet his fundraising should improve coming off a strong performance on national television.
"This is all part of slowly moving up in the process," Rubio's campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, said after the debate. Asked about Bush's performance, Sullivan said, "There's no need to pile on Gov. Bush."
The other candidates had varied performances.
The soft-spoken retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has led recent polls, flashed his personality at times, but struggled to articulate his policies at others. Trump was on the attack early and often, but also was silent for long stretches. And Texas Sen. Ted Cruz earned top marks from the audience and on social media for attacking the media and defending single mothers.
Yet nearly three months before the Iowa caucuses, the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is as unsettled as ever.
Bush's team conceded that Rubio had a strong night.
"No one is going to argue Sen. Rubio is an outstanding performer," said Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz. "But there's a difference between an outstanding performer and someone who has delivered over and over again."
He said Jeb was able to talk about issues, and if he keeps doing that he will win over voters.
Meanwhile, Bush retreats to New Hampshire on Thursday for a two-day campaign swing in a state that increasingly looks like a must-win.
Bush's team circulated talking points shortly before the debate noting he has more paid staff in New Hampshire than any of the four states set to hold primary contests in February. And further increasing expectations, the talking points note that "we are placing a special focus on increasing our New Hampshire operation."
Rubio is scheduled to visit New Hampshire next week.
An AP News Analysis
@Kolyo,
Last night was painful to watch. Jeb isn't my dream candidate either but I can't enjoy watching that twit Rubio dressing him down. Rubio represents Florida, Bush lives in Florida and frankly his criticism of Rubio's attendance record is valid. It's Rubio who is Senator from Florida, not John McCain.
While I'm not crazy about Jeb, I think he's more trustworthy than Rubio. Listening to Ted Cruz lament the sorry state of affairs was breathtakingly brazen. Suddenly he wants to be the 'sane' voice of the Party, God help us.
@Kolyo,
Kasich? (although he seems dumb as a stump on several issues)
@glitterbag,
C'mon glitter, "more trustworthy than Rubio" is low bar. Also: do we know for a fact that Jeb didn't profit from brother Niel's S&L scamola in Colorado in the 90's?
@bobsal u1553115,
Looking at that line-up last night was demoralizing. I don't see any statesmen, I see embarrassments on the world stage. I didn't set the bar, the Republican Party did or am I thinking of the Koch brothers.
@glitterbag,
How did that sort of crap ever get labeled."debate"?
Quote:The large sign that hung above Jeb Bush's head during his New Hampshire campaign stops read "Jeb Can Fix it." It was intended to refer to Washington, but to GOP voters like Larry Eller, who turned out to see Bush at a Geno's Chowder Shop in Portsmouth, the first thing Bush needs to fix is how he's campaigned.
http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/30/453072602/jeb-bush-is-on-the-road-battling-rumors-of-a-sputtering-campaign
"Jeb can fix it"?? Really? That is the best slogan that this big spending full of experts campaign can come up with? It sounds so faint, so pedestrian, so low energy.
Quote:"It's not about the big personalities on the stage. It's not about performance. It's about leadership. And the leader today in this country needs to be a unifier," Bush said.
"I know that I suck at this job interview but take a look at that resume!" is not going to go far.
@engineer,
HA! The Japanese banquet reference is to the time when Bush I threw up during a visit to Japan.
I didn't vote for him, but he wasn't too bad of a president.
Chief Operating Officer Leaves Jeb Bush Campaign
Source: The Wall Street Journal
The highest-ranking official known to lose her job in Jeb Bush’s flagging campaign is Christine Ciccone, the campaign’s chief operating officer.
News of Ms. Ciccone’s departure comes a week after the Bush campaign announced a re-organization that it said would reduce payroll by 40%. Ms. Ciccone served as Mr. Bush’s chief operating officer, effectively an office administrator responsible for logistics.
“We are grateful to have had Christine on the team, we respect her immensely,” Bush spokesman Tim Miller said.
Ms. Ciccone was paid roughly $12,000 a month, the equivalent of a $144,000 annual salary, according to the campaign’s most recent Federal Election Commission filling. Reached by phone Friday, Ms. Ciccone said “I’ve got no comment. I’ve just got to go.”
Read more:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/10/30/chief-operating-officer-leaves-jeb-bush-campaign/
@bobsal u1553115,
Now that Bush is not trying to run a national campaign she is not needed. They were supposed to be massively ramping up the organization right about now, but instead they are cutting back. There is no reason to have a big office in florida with this person running it now that Bush is down to being mostly only an Iowa and New Hampshire campaign.
@hawkeye10,
Quote:The veteran GOP strategist said Bush’s decision to go after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for missing votes in the Senate was an example of “political malfeasance.”
“I love Jeb and I know Jeb, and I’m flummoxed by that,” she told host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on New York’s AM-970, in an interview set to be aired Sunday.
“It’s a violation of debate 101: Never ask an opponent or never address to an opponent something you know he’s prepared for, which clearly Rubio was,” she said, adding: “It cuts against his message of ‘I’m a happy warrior.’ ”
Matalin, who served as a top political advisor to both presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, said she believes the favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas.), whom she said appeals to conservatives of all stripes
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/258764-ex-bush-family-advisor-flummoxed-by-jebs-debate-performance
Best summation yet on just how bad Jeb! was at the debate. She and Erick Erickson at RedState are both correct that this was the opposite of "experience you can trust", this was moronic. Jeb! was working on the level of a medium sized town mayoral candidate, and not a very good one at that.
EDIT: you know, I have in my life run by a lot of people who sabotage themselves , they do it on purpose though they are almost never self aware enough to see that they are doing it on purpose. Increasingly Jeb! looks like one of them.
Was listening to NPR a few days ago, sorry no specific source info, and it was said that Bush has the luxury of riding low while others run out of money or shoot themselves in the collective foot. He's got that big war chest.
But that was before he handed Rubio a win on a silver platter. Looks like he's more into backhanded king making than ascending himself.
I don't know how he can overcome stupid evil comments like unwed mothers needing to be publicly shamed. How many ways is that medieval?
does anyone think it's calculated by jeb to get out of being president, he'd probably rather sabotage his chances and fail in the public eye then disappoint the family, who expected him to carry the mantle, by never running in the first place
he can now say, i tried but it just didn't work and go back to a good life
@djjd62,
it always seemed to me that Romney never really wanted the job, and even after getting the nomination he just sort of gave up trying to get elected, if jeb is ruining his own chances at least he'll leave the field open for a candidate who does want the position
@djjd62,
Maybe it should be a requirement that to be President you don't want the job.
