Is Jeb Bush 'unelectable' because he gave Hillary Clinton an award?
Jeb Bush once handed Hillary Rodham Clinton an award for 鈥減ublic service.鈥� Does this disqualify him from the 2016 Republican presidential race?
At least thinks it does. ForAmerica, an organization founded by the veteran Washington rightward figure L. Brent Bozell, released an ad-like video Wednesday attacking Mr. Bush as 鈥渦nelectable鈥� due to his presence onstage with the likely Democratic nominee at a Philadelphia ceremony about 18 months ago.
鈥淚t鈥檚 bad enough that Hillary Clinton will likely use footage from this event against any Republican nominee, but if Jeb Bush is her opponent she will make him look ridiculous,鈥� Mr. Bozell said .
Here鈥檚 the background: Bush is chairman of the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center, a Philadelphia organization chartered by Congress to 鈥渄isseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis.鈥�
His brother W. is a 鈥渃hair emeritus.鈥� So is one William F. Clinton. Ex-presidents tend to flock together, you know.
Back in September 2013, the Constitution Center awarded Mrs. Clinton its Liberty Medal for her international work and efforts on behalf of women and children. At the time she was a few months retired from her post as President Obama鈥檚 secretary of State.
The ForAmerica ad juxtaposes this event with Benghazi. Its ad opens with a reminder that the ceremony took place about one year after four Americans were killed in Benghazi, Libya, including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Then it cuts to a clip of Bush on-stage at the National Constitution Center.
鈥淚 want to say 鈥榯hank you鈥� to both Secretary Clinton and President Clinton. Thank you for your service to our country. We are united by a love of country and public service,鈥� says Bush.
The video then says that Clinton denied requests for extra security in Benghazi, and that the attacks occurred on her watch. It cuts to a clip of her giving Jeb Bush 鈥渁 special thank you.鈥�
It ends with the words, 鈥淗illary will use this event to blunt any criticism that Bush levels against her. Jeb Bush: Unelectable.鈥�
Is this really that bad for Bush? We don鈥檛 see it. His words on their face are anodyne. Thanking one鈥檚 political opponent for their public service is a basic level of civility, to most voters.
The Benghazi connection might get a bit more of a response. But even there, the response is unlikely to be enough to electorally matter. As the right-leaning, at the moment Benghazi is the moral equivalent of Obama鈥檚 鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 build that鈥� gaffe of a statement in 2012, 鈥渟omething that gets the right excited but which most voters, while 鈥榗oncerned鈥� about it, just aren鈥檛 going to care much about when they鈥檙e in the booth.鈥�
That said, what this attack ad really shows is that Bush still has a real problem to his right. Yes, he鈥檚 a GOP front-runner. Yes, he鈥檚 worked hard to earn nods from famous Republican figures (We鈥檙e looking at you, Henry Kissinger.)
But conservatives are suspicious that Bush is squishy on immigration and likes Common Core educational standards a bit too much. An interesting has a cross tab that points this out. Among respondents who rate themselves 鈥渧ery conservative,鈥� 39 percent said they could consider backing Bush for president, but 37 percent said they would not. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker does much better with this group, as 50 percent said they鈥檇 consider voting for him.
One way Bush might improve on his standing with the party鈥檚 right wing is to emphasize his record as Florida governor, according to a . He pushed through $19 billion in tax cuts, and vetoed $2 billion in pork-barrel projects for local legislators while expanding Florida鈥檚 gubernatorial powers.
鈥淎s the two-term Republican governor of Florida, Mr. Bush was one of the country鈥檚 most vaunted conservative champions,鈥� writes Beth Reinhard of the WSJ.
