BUSH LEAGUE

I have been mesmerized by Jeb Bush's floundering efforts to hit the softball that Megyn Kelly lobbed at him on Fox News several days ago.  "Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion of Iraq?" or words to that effect.  The correct answer, the obvious answer, the answer that any halfway competent advisor would have fed him in their very first strategy meeting, is "No, and neither would my brother.  But all of us had false information that compelled us to act."  Jeb's inability to come up with this answer forces us to wonder whether he is another Phil Gramm, Rick Perry, or Fred Thompson -- someone whom the wise insiders all knowingly tip as the one to beat, the real deal, the heavyweight, until he actually steps into the spotlights and reveals that he is another empty suit.

I will freely confess that I have worried about a Jeb Bush candidacy.  With the House seemingly firmly in the hands of far right crazies and the Senate a serious reach for the Democrats in 2016, we desperately need a President, even a faux Republican like Clinton, who will stand against some of the worst things the Republicans wish to inflict on us.  I have long thought that Jeb Bush was the one Republican who could defeat Clinton.  Now, I am beginning to wonder.