Jeb?

The conventional wisdom today, as stated by Digby:

"He’ll almost certainly trudge on for a while, but it’s clear his heart is not in it anymore, if it ever was."

Not that I wish to pick on Digby, because everyone is saying the same thing.  But does anyone think that, after years of preparation and work, Bush suddenly decided he didn't care about being President? Particularly when you consider that all it would have taken was a marginally passable performance; all the big money guys were ready to fall in line behind him, virtually guaranteeing him the Republican nomination.

No, the reason for his failure is not that he suddenly sat down on the side of the road like the hare in the fable, and let all the tortoises pass him by.  The real answer, I suspect, is that this is who he really is- a stodgy, vapid man who felt his family's position entitled him to the Republican nomination; a man who wanted it plenty badly, but didn't really bother to prepare to get it, because he believed it was already his for the asking.

So, it's time to send another spurt of hatred in the direction of the stupid Florida voters who made him Governor, and thereby gave him a national platform.  Not the stupidest they have ever been- after Bush they elected and then re-elected one of the worst corporate criminals in American history.  But let us not forget that these miserable, ignorant Republican voters in Florida put Bush in a position to rig the election that saddled us with his brother as President- by far the worst President in our history.  Jeb! is not just George W's brother; he was a key part of the criminal conspiracy that produced the Iraq war and the supply-side depression.

And still, don't forget that he is not gone.  The money guys are just not going to trust Trump or Carson or Cruz, because they know those three are deeply delusional cranks.  And I don't think they are going to believe that the little weasel Marco Rubio is up to the job of protecting their ownership of the country either.  So, if Bush is sensible, and goes into a political rope-a-dope until the inevitable self-inflicted disintegration of these other candidates, he could emerge again this spring, as still the favorite of his fellow rich guys.  Remember, that at this time in 2008, John McCain was virtually written off, yet he ended up with the nomination, because he was the only one the rich donors really trusted. The same thing happened with Mitt Romney, despite his obvious deficiencies as a candidate. They trust Jeb! too, so don't count him out.  As long as he can shrug off the humiliation of getting abused by right wing cranks at the debates, he may very well be their candidate; at which time the Republican rank and file will, as usual, forget completely what a worthless jerk he is, and decide that he is just the thing to save the country from eight years of Democratic peace and economic growth.

Comments

Jean Valjean said…
I've only seen one short clip from the debate, and the "optics" I took away from it was that Bush was very tall and very white, and Rubio was very short and very brown. That's why I think you're dead right about who the establishment will fund and promote.
Frank said…
A great piece of writing, Green Eagle. May I ask a question of you that is unrelated to this or much of what you post? I understand that this may be something that you might not feel qualified to address but I'd like your opionion. It is this: Do you believe that social media (facebook in particular) will play a pivotal role in determining who the candidates in the general election will be?
Grung_e_Gene said…
Jeb??? is still in the race until he's out he's still got the ear of risk-averse money men. But, while Jeb thinks he is the Dauphin he looks weak, acts weak, and the conservative crazies seemingly aren't going to let him flop his way to the nomination.
Green Eagle said…
As to social media, I haven't really thought about that too much, but here's what I believe: The Democrats are far more social media savvy than the Republicans. I think it is obvious that social media have had a lot to do with Bernie Sanders being able to cut through the mainstream media noise and emerge as a serious candidate, but in the end, I don't think he can overcome Hillary's tremendous advantage. As for Republicans, the last time they had a Presidential candidate who was not picked by the hyper-rich was Goldwater in 1964, and they never let that happen again. So, however riled up the "base" is, in the end, they are going to take it and like it.

Summing things up, I think social media have had a lot of effect on a lot of people on both sides of the aisle, but not nearly enough to change things.
joseph said…
I made the exact same point in a comment at upyernoz.blogspot.com
Green Eagle said…
Thanks, Joseph- this was not a blog I had really read, but I was glad to take a look at it.

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