These have not beenthe best of non-candidate times for Jeb Bush, the Zelig of presidential politics.
There’s that inexplicable matter of still not being ready for those “W”-Iraq questions. And Justice Department interest in his Right to Rise Super PAC charade. Even some corporate-adviser subplots harkening back to when he was cashing in and prepping for his political return.
But what’s likely confounding for many 2016 Florida primary voters is Bush’s potential impact on his home state. Despite being his “own man” and the moderate GOP “adult,” he has defining issues with direct Sunshine State implications.
His gubernatorial legacy includes standardized-test overkill in the disingenuous name of “accountability.” Plus, his recent criticism of Cuban detente and his ambivalence, at best, on offshore oil rigs smacks of pandering at the expense of what’s best for Florida.
Maybe it goes with a fund-raising “non-candidate” campaign sham. His chances are not ripe for rising right now. The Jeb Bush amateur hour has been as disappointing as it’s been shocking.
Imagine, not being ready for prime time after all this preparation–and all those reminders that he was, to be sure, the “smart brother” who missed the 2000 presidential window.