Message to Jeb "Deer in the Headlights" Bush: The Old He-Coon is grinnin' atcha tonight.

[seafan]

If he doesn't land punches tonight against Donald Trump, some warn, 'it might be over.'


Getty via Politico

.....

Bush, one former adviser to his father said, "needs to show he’s the tough-minded guy we know he is." If he doesn’t, the former aide added, "Well, you know, it might be over."

.....

But the biggest fear, expressed by Bush allies, donors and party operatives to POLITICO, is that another lousy debate performance will precipitate an exodus of the big money ($100 million-plus in super PAC and campaign cash so far) that has kept the former Florida governor afloat despite his dismal poll numbers.

“The most important thing that Jeb Bush can do right now is to project strength,” says Eric Fehrnstrom, Mitt Romney’s senior adviser in 2012. “Trump's attacks on Bush as a low-energy candidate have taken their toll. For starters, Bush needs to stop referring to him as "Mr. Trump." That sounds like he works for him.”

That attitude is seeping inside the Bush camp as donors watch Donald Trump, and more recently, Ben Carson, zoom past their man. Last month, after Bush left a fundraising dinner at the Hamptons home of retired hedge fund manager Julian Robertson, guests lingered to discuss the necessity of a strong second debate performance. Another lackluster showing, some groused, would make it a lot harder for them to pump their networks for cash, the person told POLITICO.

.....

What’s also clear, to those who’ve spoken to Bush, is that his dislike of Trump remains intense.
During a recent conversation with several friends, the former governor ripped Trump as “poll-tested.” While the real estate mogul has won legions of fans for appearing unvarnished, Bush sees him as rehearsed – and lacking any deeply-held convictions other than his own desire for self-aggrandizement.

Bush has told friends he even thinks Trump actually “scripted” his apparently off-the-cuff insult of John McCain’s war record.

Still, hitting Trump in the press and getting in his face are two very different things, and Bush has always been averse to ugly confrontation.

And they will be literally standing cheek to cheek at the library: During a conference call outlining logistics last week, CNN officials informed campaigns that each podium will be less than two feet from each other.

Yep. Lots of pressure on "Veto Corleone".


I'm sure someone Floridians knew well, will also be watching.


St. Petersburg Times files: Fraser Hale 1995)
Wrapped in a coon-skin vest (if you don’t know why, ask a longtime Floridian), former Gov. Lawton Chiles is inaugurated for his second term in January 1995.

"The old he-coon walks just before the light of day."

-- Final debate with Jeb Bush, Nov. 1, 1994, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Bush looked baffled. Chiles was implying he would score a come-from-behind victory, which he did.


"It's sort of like saying, "Don't mess with the Lone Ranger.' "

-- Backstage after the debate, explaining his enigmatic "he-coon" comment.


"You know how a deer looks in headlights? That's the sight I saw last night."

-- The day after the debate.

(via Tampa Bay Times)


On the eve of the end of Jeb Bush reign in Florida, in late 2006:

Three words in Spanish appear to have signalled a recognition by the Bush family that their dynastic reign in American politics is drawing to a close.

"No tengo futuro" — "I have no future" — Governor Jeb Bush told Spanish-speaking reporters in Florida as he prepared to leave office and was asked whether he still had political ambitions. December 22, 2006

Jeb! should have listened to his mother.

Hell, he should have listened to himself.

[Faux pas]

1. The 'dub' was a zero

the jeb! is a minus. Sheesh.

[Daemonaquila]

4. Gotta disagree.

Shrub was about as low as you could go. Jeb is merely a mediocre evil. However, I'm waiting for him to go down for the count, because he's probably the only GOP candidate who, in the end, could be taken somewhat seriously in a national election, for no other reason than he hasn't said some things that almost require medication. Good riddance.

[Rex]

2. .

[Eleanors38]

3. Chiles: Foul, nasty left-wing Cracker. A Florida Man.

[mcar]

5. That was one of the best debates I've ever seen

Chiles had bush totally confused all night. When he made the "he coon" statement the crowd went wild. The look on bush's face was priceless.