Waiting for Jeb

By Alexandra Jaffe

The 2016 presidential election is Jeb Bush’s now-or-never-moment.

As other potential GOP standard-bearers have been hit by scandal or seen their luster fade, many Republicans desperately want the former Florida governor to get in the race.

His allies say he is considering it more seriously than ever before. They believe he could be their Goldilocks candidate: Not too conservative, not too centrist; not too dull, not too unpredictable; not too inexperienced, and not too marred by scandal. In fact, just right. But many of his greatest potential advantages could also be liabilities.

The Bush name gives him a deep and broad political network, but sour memories of his brother’s presidency still fester, while the notion of a third Bush in the White House since his father won in 1988 might strike voters as too dynastic. It could, ironically, also make the alternative of a second Clinton presidency, via Hillary, seem fresher and more attractive.



Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/199659-waiting-for-jeb#ixzz2v2k7eyBN