The GOP Is Finally Debating Bush-Era Failures

The GOP Is Finally Debating Bush-Era Failures (Daniel Larison) from the American Conservative
"The point is that there were plenty of opportunities in the last decade for the GOP and conservative movement to acknowledge the colossal errors of the Bush years and to try to learn from them, but their leaders were committed to making excuses and rationalizations for Bush-era failures long after Bush left office."

Why Do Republicans Dislike Jeb Bush So Much? (Jim Newell) from Slate
"He’s not just losing. He is loathed."

News from 9/11: Bush et al Ignored A LOT of Warnings

‘The Attacks Will Be Spectacular’ from Politico
"An exclusive look at how the Bush administration ignored this warning from the CIA months before 9/11, along with others that were far more detailed than previously revealed."

Bush's Toothless Campaign Snarling at Rubio

Bush Allies Threaten Wave of Harsh Attacks on Rubio, an Ex-Mentee from the New York Times
"Seething with anger and alarmed over Mr. Rubio’s rise, aides to Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor, and his allies are privately threatening a wave of scathing attacks on his former protégé in the coming weeks, in a sign of just how anxious they have become about the state of Mr. Bush’s candidacy."
Given the track record of these supposedly smart people so far, I doubt that Marco is cowering in his boots. So far, the bone-headed, so-twenty-years-ago campaign Bush is running will send some rockets at Rubio -- only to have missies come right back at them.  

The sad and gruesome history of a frontrunner who never was -- and the GOP’s zombie apocalypse

Jeb! Agonistes (Andrew O'Hehir) from Salon
"Shed no tears for the Bush dynasty, who reap what they have sown. But the undead, crazy GOP isn't finished yet. ...  the reanimated GOP, stuffed with Kochian cash, has built an impregnable congressional majority, paralyzed the legislative process and pushed the national policy agenda ever further to the right. To the zombie party, impending doom is a great victory, and the political corpse of the last Bush is its greatest trophy."

Conservatives Who Make No Sense: Not the Ones You Think

Days of Desperation (Michael Lind) from Politico
"There’s a reason Bush, Kasich and other establishment Republicans aren’t gaining traction. Their conservatism no longer makes sense."

Perverse Cosmic Justice Visited on the Bushes & their Clique

Bush at 91: Irritated and Invigorated by ’16 Race from the New York Times
"...  the elder Mr. Bush was fuming at the news of the day: Mr. Trump had belittled Sen. John McCain of Arizona for being taken prisoner in Vietnam. “I can’t understand how somebody could say that and still be taken seriously,” said Mr. Bush ... “I have no feeling for the electorate anymore,” said John H. Sununu, the former New Hampshire governor who helped the elder Mr. Bush win the 1988 primary there and went on to serve as his White House chief of staff. “It is not responding the way it used to. Their priorities are so different that if I tried to analyze it I’d be making it up.” ... ... Contempt for Mr. Trump runs deep in the clan. ... Jeb Bush’s brother Neil has also vented privately about how bad Mr. Trump is for the country, ... And their father has been highly irritated by Mr. Trump’s ridicule."
It is sooo fitting the the Bushes and their compatriots are perplexed and upset by Trump and the way the race has gone.  When W was running in 2000 and '04, these people were perfectly happy to exploit the hard right to get elected. I find it INCREDIBLE that any of them bitch about what Trump said about McCain -- given what they were selling about John Kerry in '04!!  It's a perverse form of cosmic justice. -- Nuggetsman

New GOP Focus: Bringing Trump Down

Panicked establishment gets ready for war against Trump (Byron York) from the Washington Examiner
"The Republican establishment, for the first time, is saying, off the record, this guy can win," noted Joe Scarborough on MSNBC Monday morning. "I've heard that from everybody. I don't hear anybody saying he can't win the nomination anymore." That doesn't mean Republicans have made their peace with a Trump victory. On the contrary — some are preparing to do whatever it takes to bring him down. Which could lead to an extraordinary scenario in which GOP stalwarts go to war to destroy their own party's likely nominee."

To Get Trump Out, Jeb Must Go First

3 Reasons Republicans Must Pull The Plug On Jeb If They Want To Stop Trump (Eric Kleefeld) from the National Memo
"All of this squabbling among the candidates has made one thing abundantly clear: If establishment Republicans really want to stop Donald Trump, they must first get Jeb out of the way. Here are some reasons why."

The Polite Pretense Surrounding the Bush Candidacy

Jeb Bush is completely toast: Donald Trump and Jake Tapper just ended all White House dreams (Amanda Marcotte) from Salon
"... when it comes to Bush, voters may be picking up on something that the party elite do not understand: Bush faces a brother-shaped albatross hanging around his neck that will, in fact, turn out to be a real problem in the general election. Worse, Bush’s way of handling the issue suggests he hasn’t given it much thought, clearly expecting everyone to politely pretend that we’ll all forgotten about that 9/11 and Iraq War thing."

Are Ethics and Character Questions in Marco's Future?

Dirt on Rubio in Jeb Bush's Campaign Blueprint? from US News
"A 112-page internal document provided to U.S. News includes more dirt on Marco Rubio, Iowa vote goals and a January advertising plan. ... Additionally, while the slides released to the media outlined Bush's overarching argument against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio – that he's the GOP's Barack Obama – the complete offering contains more biting, detailed slights, pointedly questioning the character and ethics of Bush's home state rival."

George W. Bush’s military lies

The real story about the undeniable service gaps Bush got away with (Paul Rosenberg) from Salon
"In the final analysis, the record clearly and convincingly proves he did not fulfill the obligation he incurred when he enlisted in the Air National Guard and completed his pilot training, despite his honorable discharge. He clearly shirked the duty he undertook in 1968 upon enlistment and in 1969 upon completion of his flight training at Moody AF Base….. “The CBS story, and the furor that caused, buried the story so deeply that you couldn’t possibly disinter it in 2004,” Robinson told Texas Monthly’s Joe Hagan for a comprehensive retrospective story in 2012. “Inevitably, the only candidate who ended up with a serious credibility problem about his military service was John Kerry, who had absolutely nothing to hide or be ashamed of,” Robinson said. “To me, in a close election — and it was a close election — who knows, that could have been the difference.”"

Why it’s high time Jeb gave up his presidential fantasy

Jeb Bush’s epic implosion (Gary Legum) from Salon
"Let's face it: Jeb sucks at this whole running-for-president thing, and he's just wasting our time now. ... Not that any of this will stop him from shambling forward through Iowa and New Hampshire like the most preppily-dressed zombie on “The Walking Dead.” After all, zombies don’t know they are dead until you drive a stake through their brains."
Ah, to badly paraphrase Robert Frost, Bush has millions to burn before he sleeps...

Trump's Attention-Grabbing Act is Killing Bush

Jeb Bush Just Sunk to His Lowest Point Ever.  And it’s all because of Donald Trump (Jim Newell) from Slate
" Trump doesn’t have to win the nomination to execute this trick; he’s done enough already by changing the contours of what Republicans want on a fundamental level. The Bush campaign came into the election knowing that it would have to address concerns about dynasty and being considered a member of the establishment. It likely didn’t expect a bombastic (to put it generously) figure like Trump to come along and seize polling front-runner status by amplifying these weaknesses through gaudy but attention-grabbing performance art."

Jeb Needs to Go Up in the Polls ... or Else!

It’s make or break time for Jeb Bush from the Washington Post
"Jeb Bush is entering a critical phase of his Republican presidential campaign, with top donors warning that the former Florida governor needs to demonstrate growth in the polls over the next month or face serious defections among supporters. ... Bush continues to battle against a steady decline in the polls, sinking to fifth place at just 7 percent in a national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday and similarly languishing in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Jeb's Slow, Steady Decline

Slipping far back in polls, can Jeb Bush bounce back in the next debate? from the Washington Post
"The drop also resulted in what top donors have hinted was a less-than-anticipated haul in fundraising during August, forcing the campaign to tighten its spending. While the changes affected mostly senior campaign aides, the most notable change is that Bush, who spent most of the year traveling on private jets to campaign events, has started flying commercial airliners more often, as he did Friday."

Jeb!'s Decline in the Polls

Jeb leaves a vacuum. Who fills it? (Matt Bai) from Yahoo News
"No, establishment Republicans remain pretty sanguine that Trump, for all his momentum, doesn’t have much room to grow beyond his 30 percent or so of the primary vote. ... What has Washington Republicans truly worried is Jeb’s precipitous decline."

The GOP's "Deep Bench"? -- A Bunch of Vapid Mediocrities?

How Trump Got In Jeb’s Head (Eleanor Clift) from the Daily Beast
"Trump has shone a harsh light on the rest of the Republican field, exposing the vapidity and mediocrity of the candidates, who have been touted as this sterling field of current and former governors and senators. None has shown good political chops; they don’t know how to make themselves and their ideas stand out, to the extent they have any beyond the usual sound bites.The Donald gets away with endlessly mocking and belittling his opponents and, unlike the other Bushes, Jeb can't handle it."

For the Bushes it Must Be in the Genes: Being Inarticulate

Jeb Bush’s foot-in-mouth problem (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"But Jeb Bush’s slips tend to be different from those of his kin. His are more Freudian, involving accidental truths. ... The context, in general, is plain: When Jeb Bush opens his mouth, danger occurs."

Is the Good Ship Bush Sinking?

Top Jeb fundraisers leave campaign amid troubling signs from Politico
"Three top Jeb Bush fundraisers abruptly parted ways with his presidential campaign on Friday, amid internal personality conflicts and questions about the strength of his candidacy, POLITICO has learned."