Jeb Bush: No longer the Republicans' 'Mr Inevitable' for the White House as Trump's attacks take toll
Bush struggling to gain meaningful foothold in crowded Republican field as his brother's legacy as president comes under fire from front runner.
What happens when a candidate whose greatest strength is the sense of inevitability surrounding him becomes something short of inevitable?
That's the question that is facing former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's presidential candidacy amid only so-so polling numbers nationally and in early-voting states. And there's the Donald Trump factor.
Bush's campaign was built to look a lot like his older brother's successful bid for the White House in 2000. Huge amounts of fundraising and the best staff money can buy, sprinkled with establishment blessings where deemed necessary.
But it has become quite clear over the past few months that not only is Jeb Bush not George W. but that the GOP of 2015 is not the Republican Party of 2000.
Jeb's demeanour has turned out to be a poor fit for a Republican Party - and, more specifically, a Republican base - that wants confrontation at all times and on all fronts. Trump, the front runner, carries himself like a grade school bully - all strength, bluster and hair. He calls anyone who dares to oppose him a classless loser who doesn't know what it takes to make America great again.
In the face of that sort of onslaught - Trump's latest broadside is the oblique suggestion that George W. Bush may bear some responsibility for the terrorist attacks of 9/11 - Jeb has been left flummoxed.
