The Ghost of W

“The model for Jeb Bush’s campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is obvious: his brother,” Steve Kornacki writes.

“Sixteen years ago, George W. Bush joined an unusually cluttered and formless Republican field in a race considered more wide open than any the party had ever seen. Within months, though, Bush had imposed order on the process by raking in previously unimaginable sums of cash and racking up an all-star roster of endorsements. By the end of 1999, before a single primary or caucus vote had been cast, Bush had intimidated six separate rivals out of the race, with one poll putting him 48 points ahead of his nearest remaining rival.”

“But there are already signs that what worked so brilliantly for W may be futile for Jeb… And the irony is this: All these obstacles exist not in spite of the fact that George W. Bush succeeded with the same playbook in 2000, but because he did. The 43rd president, in other words, is the biggest single reason why his younger brother may fall flat on his face.”