Free Republic

There is an old axiom in marketing: Good advertising makes a bad product fail faster. If you doubt that, may I submit Exhibit A: The 2016 campaign for the Republican nomination for President of Jeb Bush. It now joins the likes of the Ford Edsel and Coca-Cola's "New Coke" as a bona-fide marketing flop of an enormous magnitude. In each case, be it Edsel, New Coke or Jeb!, logic dictated a winner. Research for all three concluded a marketplace that was theirs for the taking. All three were rooted in strong family brand equity and even carried the brand name...

Yesterday, Donald Trump won his biggest victory yet, a decisive triumph in Florida’s winner-take-all primary. With the win, the tycoon’s hostile takeover of the Republican Party becomes overwhelmingly likely. Where was Jeb Bush during the battle for his home state’s primary? He was pouting. Spinning Bush’s failure to endorse his one-time protege Marco Rubio (whom he once touted for the vice presidency), or another non-Trump candidate, the former governor’s confidante Al Cardenas said: [Bush] put his heart and soul in this race, and the outcome was disappointing to him. You get emotionally drained, and you just want to stay off...

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign announced Tuesday that Neil Bush has joined his finance team, even though Bush was involved in a financial scandal that reportedly cost U.S. taxpayers more than a billion dollars, and though he once admitted to sex romps in Asia during his divorce proceedings. Cruz stated in the announcement that he was “thrilled to welcome these new members to our outstanding team,” adding that the new hires were “further testament that conservatives are continuing to unite behind this campaign.” A federal agency ruled in 1991 that Bush, former President George W. Bush’s brother, had...

An angry, embattled Neil Bush on Monday defended his conduct as a director of a failed Denver savings and loan as well as his acceptance of what he conceded was "an incredibly sweet deal" in the form of a $100,000 loan from a Denver investor that he did not have to repay. President Bush's 35-year-old son, who faces a disciplinary hearing this fall before federal thrift regulators, decided this weekend to launch a one-man public relations campaign in connection with his role as a director of the defunct Silverado Savings & Loan, whose collapse is expected to cost taxpayers about...

'Ted is the only possibility to stop Trump,' says a Bush loyalist. Republican elites are begrudgingly embracing Ted Cruz—and hanging Marco Rubio out to dry. Panicked at Donald Trump’s dominance and dismayed by Rubio’s continued inability to do anything about it, some top Republican power brokers are turning to Cruz, putting aside their policy and personal misgivings to back the candidate they now openly label as their best hope to stop Trump’s GOP takeover. “He seems to be the only guy who’s got some momentum, and is probably the best situated if there is anybody out there to beat Trump,”...

Much of the media is treating the end of Jeb Bush's campaign as a moment to eulogize the Bush family dynasty. Some are trampling on the family grave, while others are being a bit nostalgic. But in most of these pieces, an ember of hope for the legacy is missing. There's a fourth generation already in office in Texas - Jeb's own son, George Prescott. George P. is getting some attention on social media, where pundits have pointed out that maybe it's too soon to call an end to the Bush family involvement in presidential politics.

Many media outlets proclaimed that the Bush Family dynasty was over when Jeb Bush suspended his presidential campaign. The 63-year-old Bush announced he was dropping out last Feb. 20 after getting disappointing results in South Carolina. -snip- So is the Bush family dynasty really over? Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel has a very interesting take with a Bush family member probably becoming president in 2024. Who is George P. Bush? George Prescott Bush is the son of Jeb Bush named after his grandfather George H.W. Bush and great-grandfather Prescott Bush. He is currently serving as the Commissioner of the Texas...

Jeb Bush should have listened to his mother. "We've had enough Bushes," Barbara Bush said nearly three years ago, cautioning against her second son's presidential candidacy by presciently pronouncing the epitaph for his forthcoming bid. -snip- But like most American dynasties, another generation is always on the horizon. While Bush crowds loved seeing matriarch Barbara boost her son despite initial doubts, they delighted in glimpsing the young man already emerging as the next generation's standard bearer: Jeb's son, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Momma says knock Trump out! Jeb Bush is out of the race, but he's still intent on tripping up his nemesis Donald Trump - and he has his mother's permission to do it. -snip- "Their teams are meeting right now," we're told. Our insider says that discussion involves Bush pushing his remaining $25-$30 million in super PAC money Rubio's way in exchange for a possible cabinet position. Our insider also says the Bush family wants to make sure that Jeb's run doesn't ruin his 39-year old son George P. Bush's chances of someday becoming the third Bush to hold the...

From frontrunner to failure, the progression of Jeb Bush's presidential bid saw some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows before culminating in the suspension of his campaign Saturday after a disappointing showing in the South Carolina primary. For a family that has dabbled in politics since 1950 and been described by biographer Peter Schweizer as "the most successful political dynasty in American history," the news spurs questions about who, if anyone, will carry on the Bush legacy. Was Jeb's concession of defeat the final chapter of the Bush political dynasty or could we still see a Bush...

The Bushes don't go down without a fight. With the family name and political fortunes on the line, former first lady Barbara Bush joined son Jeb on the stump today, doing her bit to keep his presidential bid viable. It's a long shot, even if he survives South Carolina's primary on Saturday. Speaking briefly, she called Jeb "one of my four favorite sons" -- two others, Neil and Marvin, were on hand. Jeb later protested that she had whispered moments earlier that really, he was the favorite. The fourth brother, former president George W. Bush, stumped with Jeb on Monday...

Jeb Bush became the leaker-in-chief of his own campaign on Tuesday, accidentally revealing during a press conference that his mother Barbara Bush would be coming out on to the campaign trail with him yet again -- this time in South Carolina. "Yeah, my mom's coming," Bush told reporters on Tuesday. "Well, she was in New Hampshire. This is a little easier trip for her, this kind of weather, she'll be back." "That's not announced yet?" Bush later sheepishly asked, turning to his spokeswoman Kristy Campbell. "I blew it. Always here to help," he added. Campbell confirmed that Barbara Bush will...

Barbara Bush, the former first lady and mother of Jeb Bush, was so popular in New Hampshire that her son's campaign is bringing her back on the trail. The former Florida governor accidentally announced his mother's return in a press gaggle Tuesday following an employee town hall at FN Manufacturing here. "That's not announced yet?" Bush said after spilling the beans and turning to his spokeswoman Kristy Campbell. "It will be announced," Campbell said. "Thursday, she's coming in Thursday night and she's staying until the primary." "I blew it," Bush joked. "Always here to help."

Time and again this election, Jeb Bush has been outshone by more charismatic candidates. On Monday, there was a slight variation on the story. Once again, Jeb was outdone by a much more talented politician, but this time, it was a backer and not a rival: Jeb's big brother George W. Bush. It was the former president's first appearance on the campaign trail this cycle, and it came just a few days before the South Carolina Republican primary, which is shaping up to be a make-or-break moment for Jeb. President Bush, along with his wife Laura and Senator Lindsey Graham,...

LIVE: Coming Up Jeb Bush Rally Featuring President George W. Bush

The brother who was never expected to become president - but did - will be trotted out Monday as a lifeline to the brother who was always expected to become president, but now may not. Former President George W. Bush will take the stage Monday evening alongside Jeb Bush for a highly anticipated rally in North Charleston, S.C., part of the Bush team's effort to use the primary next Saturday in South Carolina - a state long favorable to the Bush family - to help reinvigorate Mr. Bush's stalled presidential bid. -snip- Recently, a young woman in New Hampshire outlined...

Jeb Bush said campaigning with his brother, former President George W. Bush, tomorrow could help save his presidential campaign. -snip- "The point is, is he a popular Republican? You bet he is," Bush said of his brother. "And he will make the point ... that he knows what it takes to be president of the United States, to be commander-in-chief, to keep the country safe and that he believes that I have those skills based on my record and based on how he knows me, and that will be validator in South Carolina where values matter and where national defense...

From the Bush Campaign: President George W. And Laura Bush will be with @JebBush for a rally Monday night in South Carolina @NBCDFW

The 2016 campaign has bewildered and captivated George W. Bush. At home in Dallas, the 43rd president rises before dawn and reads political news online. He fires off emails to his old advisers to check on the latest campaign-trail ­gossip. He tunes into the debates, even though they stretch past his bedtime. In private and among friends, Bush and his wife, Laura, express amazement at an election season that has been hijacked by Donald Trump. At a get-together last month, Clay Johnson, a lifelong friend, recalled that he and Bush said to each other, "Can you believe what's going on?"...

Charleston Rally with President George W. Bush and Governor Jeb Bush Jeb 2016, Inc. Monday, February 15, 2016 at 6:00 PM (EST) Charleston, SC Upon registering, the event location will be sent to you closer to Monday