McLaughlin: Another Bush? Zuckerman Says "Yes"

John McLaughlin

In the January 9th, 2015 episode of the McLaughlin Group, host John McLaughlin speculated on Jeb Bush's chances of winning the President in 2016.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Jeb Bush has formed a presidential exploratory committee and he's resigned from corporate boards and committee and he's released emails from s tenure as Florida governor. Jeb is showing more than ankle, he's baring knees and hip.

If Governor Bush does run and if he wins the Republican nomination and then wins the general election, he will be make history as the third Bush to become president of the United States. A big deal? No, the Bushes are a dynasty and dynasties run in the U.S. DNA.

Notable examples are the Rockefellers, the Kennedies, the Clintons, the Browns of California, the Cuomos of New York, the Nunns of Georgia, the Pryors of Arkansas, and the Bushes. 

Despite McLaughlin's argument, dynasties have actually taken quite a beating lately.



US Senator Scott Brown (R-MA)
upended the Kennedy legacy

First, Massachusetts senior US Senator Ted Kennedy passed away in 2009, and his US Senate seat went to Republican state senator Scott Brown of Wrentham. Let's not forget Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, who resigned in disgrace following DUI and drug addiction.

He could have mentioned that Mitt Romney's father George was the Governor of Michigan, yet ruined his presidential chances following comments about brainwashing in Vietnam. Mitt served as governor of Masschusetts for one term, and has twice failed as a Presidential candidate.

About the Rockefellers, note that Jay Rockefeller retired as US Senator from West Virginia, replaced by Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican and a woman, a first on both counts for the Blue Mountain State. Her father served as Governor and Congressman as well, but her legacy is small compared to the Rockefeller name and fortune.

Sam Nunn (D-Georgia)

As for the Nunns of Georgia, Father Sam was an influential US Senator for decades, but when his daughter Michelle attempt to win the seat vacated by retiring Saxby Chambliss, she not only lost in the general election, but Republican challenger David Perdue's wide margin prevented a runoff. For the last two reelection bids, Chambliss had to compete in a runoff for victory. Nunn lost, big time, and her big name didn't help.

Dynasties are more in demise than on the rise in the United States, and with Clinton facing unrest from the Left as well as frustrations from Middle America, plus Bush's unsavory reception from grassroots conservatives, two more legacies may fail in 2016.

Mort Zuckerman

Despite the record of dynastic demise, Mort Zuckerman defended for the Bush Dynasty's chances:

ZUCKERMAN: He understands all the issues like no other candidate that I’ve heard. 

The Editor of US News and World Report also believed that Cuban Communist Dictator Fidel Castro was a great speaker. Politicians speak swelling words, but their speeches do not reveal character, nor do their words determine whether they deserve to hold positions of power.

ZUCKERMAN: In the latest poll, he's 6 percent ahead of the next Republican in the party.

So what? Front runners have risen and fallen early on, but as prospective voters learn more about the candidates, sleeper candidates rise up and capture a party nomination. John McCain and Barack Obama in 2008, for example, were as good as dead, yet they triumphed in their respective conventions.

As for Mort's prediction:

ZUCKEMAN: Jeb Bush will be the Republican nominee for the presidency.

Indeed? George W. Bush was a more liberal outlier in the early 2000 primaries, but his campaign finesse from South Carolina onward secured the nomination. Notwithstanding, he won a bare (one vote) majority of in the Electoral College, and fewer popular votes than Democratic challenger Al Gore. For the name recognition, ad the wealth of money and experience, George W. Bush eked out a victory, nothing more.

Jeb Bush enters the 2016 fray early with good polling numbers early on, yet front-runners get run over very quickly. Despite his political maneuvering out of corporate roles and leadership boards, Bush  III cannot run away from amnesty, Common Core, and the Establishment label. The third liability hinders him more as political contributions have surged in the last four years, to the hurt of big names, bigger spenders, and entrenched incumbents.

Jeb Bush's legacy will be a liability (Gage Skidmore)

Zuckerman's judgment is not the final determination, and the legacy of diminished dynasties in the United States suggests that Jeb Bush faces an uphill climb, if he does enter to race.