As any sentient human saw last night, Jeb Bush didn’t do so good in the debate. He was the kid who tries to be a bully and ends up giving the other kid HIS lunch money. It was ugly. And now the inevitable whirling of the death spiral has begun.
Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign was at an inflection point Thursday as the candidate faced a choice of sticking with his long-term strategy or yielding to criticism from supporters and senior Republicans who are demanding fundamental changes to his sputtering candidacy.
Significant concerns about Bush’s performance were magnified on the debate stage here Wednesday night, and the former Florida governor awoke to his harshest criticism yet. Bush faces the real possibility that a substantial amount of money and momentum will move to Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) as the party’s mainstream conservative wing’s favored candidate unless he moves quickly to rebalance his candidacy.
“I could have done better,” Bush conceded on a conference call Thursday afternoon with top donors and state chairs, according to a person who participated.
His debilitating performance was for many allies a cause of alarm. He sowed serious doubts about his ability to effectively prosecute the case against not only his Republican rivals but also the potential Democratic nominee, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in what is expected to be a brutal general-election campaign.
“I could have done better.” Ya think, really? I’ve got a more accurate answer - “I couldn’t have done worse.” Sheesh, denial is not just a river in Egypt, clearly.
He’s done, it’s over, close the door, turn out the lights, go home.
