Campaign kickoffs aren’t what they once were, given the distractions of the time and speed with which one political event overtakes another. But for Jeb Bush, this week’s launch couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
For the past week, much of the media’s attention on Bush has focused on the internal machinations of his staff and political operation. Monday’s announcement provided Bush with a welcome circuit breaker, and he took full advantage of the moment.
In his telling, what makes him stand out in a crowded field is a combination of executive experience as a governor, conservative values, a compassionate heart, a commitment to small government and what he described as the instincts of a reformer prepared to disrupt the “pampered elites” in Washington.
Implicit in his message was one more thing that he and his team believe sets him apart. That is the claim that he would be better positioned to win a general election and restore Republicans to the White House than any of his rivals.
That is, if he can defeat those rivals to win the GOP nomination. That is the central question surrounding his candidacy. He carries a famous name and would make history by becoming the third member of one family to be elected president. He may not be the dominant GOP candidate that some people mistakenly thought anyone with the Bush name and network should be. But neither is anyone named Bush merely one more candidate in a crowded field of contenders, regardless of what the polls show.
Those polls show a compacted field, bunched at the top and with many others close behind. But Bush still has assets that could give him the staying power to win what shapes up as an extremely competitive contest.
One is money. When he finally reports on the results of his tireless, aggressive fundraising of the first months of this year, it is likely to outdistance his rivals, perhaps by significant millions. If a Bush-allied super PAC falls short of the $100 million threshold that has been talked about, it nonetheless is likely to get people's attention, particularly his rivals’.
Bush also knows what he thinks about issues and is comfortable talking about them — whether they be domestic matters that were his bread and butter in Tallahassee during his two terms as governor or some national security concerns that are newer but not exactly foreign to him. That is an asset not to be underestimated over the course of a long and rigorous campaign.
He faces resistance inside his party — hesitation born of a belief among some Republicans that no matter what they think of the presidencies of his father, George H.W. Bush, or his brother George W. Bush, a third Bush presidency is simply one too many.
What the past months have shown is that he will face one of the most competitive contests Republicans have seen in many campaigns. He has filled his campaign coffers and realigned his staff for the battles ahead. Now it comes back to him. Can he make the sale to a wary party?
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
