Humiliating defeat marks the end of the road for a tainted dynasty
IN 2013, Barbara Bush told an interviewer that she didn’t want her son, Jeb, to run for president. “There are other people out there who are very qualified,” she said, “and we’ve had enough Bushes.” Jeb ignored his mother’s advice – only to discover that the American people agreed with her.
His defeat in South Carolina, where he placed fourth with less than 8 per cent, was truly humiliating. It’s a state with a history of backing Bushes for president – a deeply religious place with strong ties to the military.
This time, however, it chose Donald Trump, who spent much of the televised debates ridiculing Bush. It also gave joint-second place to Marco Rubio – a protégé of Jeb’s from the days when he ran Florida. How could this happen? There were signs that this wasn’t Jeb’s turn from the very beginning.
He led the polls in early 2015 – but not by very much. Surveys suggested that voters respected him but weren’t excited. The enthusiasm gap was filled quickly by Trump, and every advantage that Bush enjoyed suddenly looked like a negative.
His ability to speak Spanish and his appeal to Hispanic voters were not winners in a year dominated by fears over illegal immigration. His calmness and undoubted intelligence played out poorly in his intense TV matches with The Donald.
Bush’s attempts to tap into the zeitgeist were misjudged. He tweeted a photo of a handgun with his name printed on the barrel and was mocked across several continents.
His biggest problem was his family’s history. In the early stages of his candidacy he tried to distance himself from the Iraq War. In South Carolina, where Trump called George W Bush a liar, Jeb switched to defending his brother’s honour. The former president was sent in to campaign.
What the Bushes failed to appreciate is that their name is now tarred by the credit crunch, ballooning deficits and body bags. The Democrats have settled for Hillary Clinton in part because the Clintons are associated with the wealthy, serene Nineties.
It’s akin to the Democrats voting against the Kennedys – which they did in 1980, when Ted Kennedy also came to an ignominious end in a president primary he thought he had in the bag. Dynasties rise and fall. That’s democracy.
That said, Jeb emerges from the primary season with honour intact.
If he endorses Rubio and gifts him his money and contacts then, conceivably, he might rescue the Republican Party from Trump. Moreover, the Bush family still has one ace up its sleeve: the ever popular Barbara. “My mom is the strongest woman I know,” Jeb boasted in his final debate. Trump retorted: “She should be running.”