Jeb’s Woes

Last week, Jeb Bush had to apologize … to the French.

The background: During the most recent debate, the Republican presidential candidate criticized his rival Marco Rubio for his repeated absences from the U.S. Senate.

“I mean, literally, the Senate — what is it, like, a French work week? You get, like, three days where you have to show up?” he threw at his opponent.

The joke didn’t just fall flat, but Bush was also thrown off by his adversary’s counterattack. “… Someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you,” Rubio replied, leaving Bush speechless.

Bush’s failed attack also annoyed the French (hence the apology). Most of all, it showed that the Republican candidate’s campaign is going nowhere.

Not only has he committed gaffe after gaffe over the past few months, but he is also being criticized for not displaying enough passion on the campaign trail, for not having enough get-up-and-go.

He’s “low-energy,” as another one of his rivals, Donald Trump, incessantly repeats.

It’s so bad that in tonight’s Republican debate, some believe Bush will have to fight for his political life. If he doesn’t deliver a solid performance, he can forget about his dream of getting into the White House.

In Bush’s defense, his poor performance since the beginning of the campaign is far from being the only fly in his ointment.

His family name is already a strike against him. It’s not easy to seduce voters when the disappointing presidency of his brother, George W. Bush, is still so fresh in their minds. The fact that Jeb would be the third member of the Bush family to take over the White House in a quarter century doesn’t help either.

And then there’s the attitude of the Republican voters. Every four years, their anger and resentment grows. They don’t care about more moderate politicians or about those who have been in politics for too long. Haven’t Republican candidates been repeating for years that government is bad? They reap what they sow …

Bush’s woes were thus predictable. Nevertheless, it’s still bad news for the Republican Party — and a situation that should be worrisome to Americans.

The problems facing Bush and other moderate candidates leave even more room to maneuver for candidates like Donald Trump and Ben Carson. And they give even more credibility to the sometimes xenophobic, misogynist, and often completely insane statements of other candidates.

We can’t count on these White House aspirants — who are leading in the polls — to overcome the many challenges that Barack Obama’s successor will have to face.