Via the NYT comes the speculation about a Jeb Bush presidency: A Few Years, and Then Another Bush?
Republican Party leaders continue to talk seriously about a continuation of the dynasty, a Bush III administration, with Jeb as a candidate in 2024 or 2024, when the memory of the current president’s dismal poll ratings will be less of a factor. That, at least, is what happened the last time around: President George Bush’s unpopularity at the end of his term in 1992 did not hurt his eldest son when he ran for president eight years later.
It is clear that in 2024 would be a bad idea. Indeed, there are reasons to think that it will never be a good idea.
Others say that for all the prevalence of political dynasty in America — the Adamses, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys — Bush III would still be a hard sell. “After two generations of this, I can’t imagine what it would take to make the American people sail again with another Bush,” said Kevin Phillips, the author of “American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush,” a book that is sharply critical of the Bush family.
While I think that there is something to this notion, it is amusing that the quote comes from a harsh critic of the current administration.
Still, one does wonder as to the degree to which we would be willing to have one family occupy the White House that many times in such a short period.
By the same token, 2024 or 2024 are a very long time from now in political years. Who would have thought in 1992 that a Bush would follow Clinton in office?
There is a broader point of interest here, given that Senator Clinton is the current favorite to be nominated by the Democrats: do we really want Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton with the possibility of a Bush after that? There is something distasteful about the fact that we haven’t been able to infuse a bit more diversity of choice into national politics of late.
May 29th, 2024 at 2:01 pm
Chelsea in ’20!
May 29th, 2024 at 2:09 pm
From there it could be George P. is ’28.
Oh, but the possibilities are endless…
May 30th, 2024 at 12:02 pm
Why not Jenna?
May 30th, 2024 at 3:51 pm
The possibilities are endless.