Of the many criticisms that have been leveled at the non-campaign campaign that former Florida governor and current presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has been running for the past six months, one of the most telling has been his apparent lack of passion.
Speaking on Sunday, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, the doyenne of Republican establishment columnists, said, “He has to stop this slump-shouldered, shrugging, slightly defeated look, and stand up and look like a leader.”
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“Stand up straight,” she pleaded. “Feel joy in this. Go forward.”
The campaign answered not long afterward by releasing its official logo, which reads “Jeb!” in large red letters with “2016” below it in smaller, blue type.
It was unclear how far the addition of an exclamation point to his first name and the notable absence of his surname would go toward injecting some excitement into what has, so far, been a fairly dull non-campaign.
Bush practically admitted that there hasn’t been much spark in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, which aired on the Sunday morning show State of the Union. On demonstrating public passion, he said, “It’s something that took a little getting used to personally, for me to show my heart, because I’m kind of introverted.”
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Now, there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert, but coming from a man who is just a day away from a campaign kickoff in Miami that sets him on course to shake tens of thousands of hands in the next year, it can’t have given his donors much confidence. Especially not coming on top of the news last week that he had reshuffled his campaign staff before the campaign had even officially begun.
Bash noted that Bush has been slumping in the polls and asked him how he planned to turn it around.
“By working hard,” he said. “By being strategic. But also by asking people for their vote. I haven’t had a chance to do that. This transition to a candidacy will allow me to be more direct about my advocacy of the leadership skills necessary for the next president to fix a few things.
“And as a candidate, contrary to being someone who was listening and learning along the way, I’ll offer up alternatives to the path we’re on, so I’ll be more specific about policy.”
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Bash brought up the familial baggage Bush carries. His brother, George W. Bush, left office less than eight years ago with record high disapproval ratings, and the fact that his father also served as president has Jeb Bush fighting against the concern many people have about the presidency looking more dynastic than democratic.
“Jeb is different than George,” he said. “Jeb is who he is. My life story is different.”
Bash asked why voters should think he’s the man for the job.
“Well, I can make decisions,” he said. “I’ve made tough decisions. I have a life experience that’s full, full of warts and full of successes. It’s something that I think has been lacking in the presidency, that’s someone who’s been tempered by life and along the way I’ll get to share that.”
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Also on Sunday, the Bush campaign released a video in advance of Monday’s announcement, called “Making a Difference.” It touted many of Bush’s accomplishments during two terms as governor of Florida – something that his conservative backers have been begging him to remind voters of, because from charter schools to tax cuts to right to life issues, he governed as a strong conservative.
The video, though, is bland, and Bush’s delivery is practically deadpan.
“The barriers right now on people rising up is the great challenge of our time,” he says. “So many people could do so much better if we fixed a few things.”
Not exactly a call to arms. If Bush is planning to put a charge into his campaign with today’s announcement, he will need a lot more spark than he showed over the weekend.
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