海角大神

Twenty-four hours after his debate performance in front of an audience of 23 million Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush appeared in front of a more humbling number: about 100.

As the Washington Post鈥檚 David Weigal and Ed O鈥橩eefe reported, Mr. Bush鈥檚 first post-debate rally took place in a half-full Las Vegas rec center room.

Whether the former Florida governor鈥檚 campaign is losing its luster or focusing on the long game, his aides knew he had to show bravado during the GOP presidential debate on CNN.

And the change in attitude showed: he directly engaged Donald Trump and defended his record.

Recently, critics, including Mr. Trump, have described Bush鈥檚 calm demeanor as "low-energy." At the Las Vegas event, the candidate seemed to push back at this characterization, saying, 鈥淚 hope that I am so brilliant and so eloquent and so high-energy that you feel compelled to caucus for me.鈥�

But Bush has more to be concerned about than just energy. Currently, Washington-outsider candidates in the Republican field have gained serious traction. Besides Trump, who continues to dominate the polls, neurosurgeon Ben Carson and business executive Carly Fiorina are surging in polls and garnering headlines.

To confront this trend, Bush has branded himself as a Beltway outsider, despite his family name. He released a plan in July that would shrink the size of government and rein in the influence of lobbyists. As The New York Times鈥� Michael Barbaro reported,

This is part of a strategic effort to tap into the anti-Washington sentiment that voters identify with and other candidates are using to great effect.

But Bush may not have too much to worry about. Nate Silver, editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight.com and a statistician who has accurately forecast election outcomes in the past, told CNN鈥檚 Anderson Cooper that the chance of Trump or Carson winning the nomination is about 5 percent.

Other writers at FiveThirtyEight seem to think these candidates from outside the political establishment will eventually combust, leaving caucus-goers to choose a traditional candidate.

And while donors may be nervous over his shaky poll numbers, Bush has still raised more money than any other candidate.

With more than four months to go before the first primary, Bush may still have time to聽fine tune聽his presence on the campaign trail, placate the donors,聽and put the insurgency to rest.