Jeb Bush may have once thought he’d be the de facto candidate for the Republicans in the 2016 election but with a host of new circumstances, Trump included, things have shifted.
Bush’s campaign has reduced staff at his campaign headquarters and his payroll by 40 percent. The former Florida governor has also cut his travel budget by 20 percent. When asked about this in an interview with TV Evangelist Pat Robertson, Bush spun the positives of his decision:
“This means lean and mean and this means I have the ability to adapt. And the circumstances when we started the election were different. I have not met a person who thought Donald Trump would be the front running candidate at this point.”
Bush’s decision makes sense, Donald Trump has huge support but eventually he is going to sink himself, but Bush may be over estimating his own appeal. The latest polls show Bush getting only five percent of the vote in Iowa, behind Trump, Carson, Rubio, and Cruz.
Getting set to play the long game in this election is a risky move for Bush. There are fewer debates for him to show his knowledge and attract voters, and an earlier primary that may not be long enough for his opponents to either run out of funds or have scandals uncovered.
Bush also suffers from taking a moderate stance on immigration. Trump supporters largely rallied behind him because of his hard right views on border control, but if Trump drops out, those people probably aren’t going to Bush’s camp.
Ted Cruz has done a very quiet job at positioning himself as the less crazy Trump, knowing that once Trump is out, he can swoop in and take a significant portion of Trump’s base.
Bush’s biggest problem isn’t Trump, or funds, or even the host of candidates running against him; it’s that he is a moderate republican in an increasingly extreme political climate.
When Bush gives a speech it’s well delivered, less factually dishonest than most of his competitors , and makes him appear very intelligent. It’s also boring. Bush doesn’t inspire a hope for change. He feels like a candidate from 10 years ago, and that’s why he doesn’t attract people who are fed up with how things have been running for the last 10 years.
