"My brother here ruined my chances!" ;)
Posted on 02/12/2008 10:28:24 AM PST by forkinsocket
How George torpedoed Jeb's presidential hopes and sank the family's political dynasty.
Will America close the books on the Bush dynasty when George W. leaves office in January? Or is it still possible that his younger brother, Jeb, will rise from the ashes of the second Bush presidency -- perhaps even as part of the Bush clan's ongoing duel with the House of Clinton?
While one should never say never in politics, such a rematch in 2012 or 2016 is beginning to seem extremely unlikely. Even Jeb himself apparently regards prospects for a Bush resurrection as largely hopeless. To understand why, one needs to look more closely at the relationship between George and Barbara Bush's two eldest sons.
George Walker, 61, and John Ellis Bush (who turns 55 Monday) have long been their family's principal rivals, and by various accounts they are not close. In 2004, George W. told Brit Hume of Fox News that he and Jeb speak by phone only about once a month. The competition is not always obvious because of the way George and Jeb function as allies when the family enterprise's collective interests are at stake, as they did in the 2000 Florida recount. But as a factor in George's own drive to succeed, sibling rivalry has been second only to his relationship with his father. And in a way, it is the primary expression of it, because the ultimate stake in the rivalry was inheritance of their father's mantle.
George W. was always keenly aware, according to friends and family members, that Jeb was viewed the smarter of the two. Jeb, for his part, has always known that the cousins, aunts and uncles like Junior better. Jeb is relentlessly focused, introverted and serious.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Enough with the Bushs and and Clintoons ENOUGH!
I wish I could get paid for writing cr@p like this.
Fine with me. The USA does not need ruling oligarchies or politically dynastic families. We are already stuck with too many ruling “elites” in Congress who are too entrenched and hard to vote out of office.
Yes, I think Jeb was the better of the two, but big brother got first shot.
Yes, I think the Bush dynasty is finished. Too bad. Jeb did a much better job running Florida than George did in Washington. But NOBODY wants another President named Bush.
For a while, I kind of hoped they’d find a way around it, but now I say, NO.
The sad part is that Jeb would be one of our most qualified candidates in 2012. Once the hysterical Bush Derangement Syndrome dies down, Jeb could show up on the stage with some decidedly different policies than his brother pursued.
I don’t.
Now we are busily ushering in the age of humanistic liberalism that you’re supposed to embrace as “conservatism”. It’s “evolving” downward.
I don’t.
Now we are busily ushering in the age of humanistic liberalism that you’re supposed to embrace as “conservatism”. It’s “evolving” downward.
“Stay out da Bushes!”
Too bad we couldn’t get the one who can speak English as a first language. His inability to communicate sank W’s presidency, making him so self-conscious that he has disappeared from the public forum for months at a time. You can’t have a successful presidency if the only voices heard are those of your enemies.
At firstm it thought it was another story on the escapades of Roger Clinton or Hugh or Tony Rodham.
Given the remaining choices this year, I would easily pick Jeb .
They did it to pave the way for George Prescott Bush, who is even a bigger advocate of open borders than his father (Jeb) and uncle (GWB).
Well that leaves Obama...
The Obama zombies should be studied by political science majors everywhere...
The Rehtoric of the Good US aginst the Bad Them (Conservatives) and how it hypnotizes his crowds into cultish worship...
Now isn’t that how Hitler and Castro came to power?
Viva Le Obama Revolution.
groan...
Fool me twice, shame on me. They won’t fool me three times.
Two in a family is the record. Three in 20-25 year span just isn't going to happen. Three in a century isn't going to happen either but it has a better shot.
Thank you for your service. "Next!!"
I was about to say EXACTLY the same thing, word for word. Amen to that.
One can only imagine how much more pro-amnesty Jeb would be, with his Mexican wife.
I pray it be so.
"My brother here ruined my chances!" ;)
The LATimes. . .yeah, like I believe this story is exactly right.
Speaking of Bush, we can’t afford Hillary either.
Well put x 2.
Well put x 2.
Remember Poppy’s tears? This is why he was crying.
Well, wouldn't happen until after two others were finished: Hillary AND Chelsea.
Care to write any[thing] on that.
...Weisberg?
This is an infantile article.
AMEN!
I know his lack of talking up Iraq was insulting to the families that sent their sons over there. Amazing
I have two problems with Jeb. One of them was Terri Schiavo. He did speak out on this issue, but he failed to use his powers as governor as he might have done at the critical moment.
Second is the hispanic angle. I sympathize with what I thought was the Bush program of reaching out to hispanic voters and bringing them into the party. That seemed to be their position for the first four years.
Then illegal amnesty came down the pike and GWB showed his true colors. I’d be afraid that Jeb would do the same. Reaching out to hispanics is good; giving amnesty to a hundred million illegals would destroy our country. GWB has poisoned that well for Jeb, and no one will trust him now.
a remarkably stupid article, even for the LATimes
Now just wait a minute! Do you speak for all of us? Jeb Bush has a right to run. And as far as I know, the people who want to vote for him can still do so. Does anything in the constitution forbid this? I don’t think so! Sheesh, the arrogance of some people on here is amazing!
You have no right to speak for me, and a lot of people on here. I respect your right to support who you want. Please try really hard to respect other people’s rights to support who they want to support, ok?
Jeb has as much right to run as his father and brother did. We all know they are not royalty. They have to campaign, run and win like anyone else. Nowhere in the constitution does it say that members of a family are forbidden to enter into a run for president. It also doesn’t say that citizens can’t vote for them!
No doubt. I barely talk to my sister once a month, either, but it has nothing to do with our relationship, which is close. It's just that we both have very busy lives that don't overlap. She lives in one place, I in another, just like George and Jeb. Siblings that love each other don't have to be joined at the hip for everything to be ok between them, for crying out loud.
Did you read what I said?
I said that I thought Jeb was better than GWB. But at this point I don’t think there’s any chance he can ever run, mostly because of unhappiness with GWB, and especially because of GWB’s support of the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill, which included bad-mouthing conservatives and others who opposed it.
If you like Jeb, by all means support him if he ever runs. But I don’t think it’s likely you’ll get the chance.
No one benefits from that. Objectively, he should not be penalized for his family ties to W but measured on his record in Fl. which seemed a stronger record than W's in Texas.
That said, having had more than enough Clinton and Bush, I would be disinclined to support Jeb over an equally qualified candidate. It should be a warning to all that politics is too incestuous: The Romneys, the Clintons, the Kennedys, the Bushes, the Jacksons, the Sánchezes ...
I voted for father and son. His father was pretty much as you say, but I do think W had a pretty good first term. He fooled a lot of us with that, "I'm gonna spend some of that political capital" stuff at the start of his second term. After Harriet Myers it's been almost all downhill, like two different people.
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