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If you want to know who I listen to for advice, it’s him.
— Jeb Bush, surprising many of the 50-plus attendees at an exclusive Manhattan gathering by naming his brother, former president George W. Bush, as his most influential counselor on U.S.-Israel policy, the Washington Post reports.
Money is unlikely to be Bush’s problem in this campaign, and cash may be a less valuable resource than another sort of currency in which he is lacking: the support of influential Republicans, like current senators and governors, especially those who publicly endorse a candidate. Historically, these endorsements have been the best proxy for support in the ‘invisible primary’ and a leading indicator for which candidates may emerge victorious through the rough-and-tumble nomination race. … So far, Bush has won very few endorsements. No current Republican senators or governors have endorsed him, and only five members of the House of Representatives have done so, all from his home state of Florida.
I don’t think you need to spend $1 billion to be elected president of the United States in 2016. I don’t think it’s necessary if you run the right kind of campaign, you don’t need to have these massive amounts of money to spend.
— Jeb Bush, quoted by Bloomberg.
At the end of the day, when you put all the assets and liabilities on the table, it’s hard to see anyone but Rubio, Bush or Walker as the ultimate nominee. Sure, one of them could stumble or come up short in a key early state. It’s also highly likely that someone like Huckabee, Paul, Cruz and even Perry could win in Iowa. But, when you look at the candidate vulnerabilities instead of just their assets, these are the three who are the most likely to win over the largest share of the GOP electorate. Winning the ‘Evangelical’ or the ‘Establishment’ or the ‘Tea Party’ lane isn’t how you win the nomination. Cobbling together the broadest coalition is the key.
The challenge isn’t that some people are successful and some people aren’t. Taking from the successful people to provide for those that aren’t isn’t the solution. The solution is, How do you build capacity so people can achieve earned success?
— Jeb Bush, speaking after a closed meeting at the Metropolitan Republican Club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, reports the Palm Beach Post.
I have to prove that I’m not running for president — if I go beyond the consideration of this to being an active candidate — to try to break the tie between the Adams family and the Bush family. That really isn’t my motivation — but I have to prove that.
— Jeb Bush, quoted by CNN.
You can win a primary in a deeply disaffected country by scraping the bark off of anyone who gets in your way, but that’s not the way to get to the main event and get a chance of winning there.
We’re not a step closer to freedom in Cuba because of the steps the president is taking.
— Jeb Bush, quoted by the Washington Post, commenting on President Obama’s decision to remove Cuba from the terror sponsor list.
