Does Jeb Bush Have The Passion to be Elected President

Is Jeb Bush Passionate Enough to be Elected President? Jeb Bush ran for Governor of Florida and George W. Bush Governor of Texas in 1994. Jeb was the anointed one in the Bush family. He would be the next to run for President. Jeb lost by 2%, 63,940 votes, to the incumbent out of 4.2 million votes cast. George W. won the Texas election, thereby jumping ahead of his brother in seeking the White House. I’ve always been impressed by Jeb. He is cool, composed, articulate, well spoken, thoughtful, and cerebral. Governor Bush may be the best sited for President in terms of intelligence, expertise, judgment, and ability to work with others. Yet he has to first win the nomination and then the general election. He lacks passion. The electorate is angry. We know that President Obama is destroying American exceptionalism. We know the President has taken a wrecking ball to the economy. We recognize that the President is imposing a federal government Nanny State on the people. The electorate is looking to channel its anger. It’s looking for the right candidate. Donald Trump has tapped into a vein, but fortunately won’t win. Governor Huckabee, a minister, has passion. Senator Ted Cruz has passion, but he is the Lone ranger from Texas. Governor Chris Christy has passion, and was earlier the favorite, but Bridgeate set him back. He could still prevail as one of the best personal campaigners. I watched Governor Scott Walker’s speech yesterday. He comes across as “the common man,” with a record of accomplishment. Governor Bush has advantages in his campaign: the Bush name; the Bush connections and fundraising networking, and $114 million in the bank. He hopes to win by outlasting the other 15 Republicans. He has one other advantage. As the “moderate conservative” in the race he can hope the 15 dyed in the wool conservatives will split the vote, letting him rise above. A Bush-Clinton race will be a snoozer for the public. Governor Romney believed the vast anti-Obama hatred would propel him into the White House. Yet he wouldn’t respond to the negative campaign. The key to his defeat is not that he lost, but that he tallied 2 million fewer votes than Senator McCain four years earlier. The base did not turn out for the Governor. Senator McCain was also not trusted by the base, but at least he had Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. She excited the base. Governor Bush’s campaign is premised on surviving the primary season and then appealing to the independents in the general election. He said in a July 8, 2015 interview with Fox’s Bret Baier “I think you have to be respectful of conservatives.” That statement is damning! Conservatives do not want respect. They want faithful allies. They distrust the Governor on immigration and common core. They want a fighter. Governor Bush has a solid conservative record as Governor of Florida. Yet he is downplaying it. It does not speak for itself in this election against Governors Cristy, Kasich and Walker, who have more recent conservative governorship records. He has shown no passion to the base. He has not thrown “red meat” to the Red State. He has shown no passion in public. Governor Rick Perry lacked the fire in the belly four years ago. He may have it now. Governor Jeb Bush clearly has fire in his belly, but he may not have passion in his remarks. Neither Senator McCain nor Governor Romney were willing to fight as down as dirty as the Obama campaigns. They were passive. Hillary Clinton, if she wins the nomination, will run just as dirty a campaign. Both the base and the general electorate is looking for a fighter this election. Governor Jed Bush’s time has passed unless he kindles his conservative passion.