"Another establishment moderate": what the internet is saying about Jeb Bush

by Julia Azari 

Academic blogging:

- Presidential scholar Mary Stuckey on J. Bush's advantages and disadvantages at LSE's USApp blog

- Hans Hassell on nomination politics at the Monkey Cage - not specific to Jeb Bush, but useful context.

- Jonathan Bernstein comments on the candidate, the field, and the Bush name in the Republican party.

Reportage and commentary:

- By way of background, a 2012 piece by Joe Hagan on Bush's "complicated legacy" as Florida governor.

- Libby Nelson at Vox on whether Common Core will affect Bush's chances at the nomination.

- Jamelle Bouie doubts Bush's chances.

- The candidate/explorer meets with fundraisers in Chicago.

- Media matters has compiled a list of conservative media response to the announcement.

- The Economist invokes a post-punk band named after wartime sexual slavery to describe Republican intra-party competition.

One of the things that stood out of this set of commentary is that the pieces written by academics, especially those by Stuckey and Hassell, emphasizes the strategic choices that candidates and parties make. Their observations imply that party divisions and commitments are not fixed. Rules, alliances, and ideological positions matter - but they are also dynamic and responsive to shifts in the political environment.

Many of the pieces on the reporting side, however, emphasize personality and how personal characteristics relate to ideological rifts. I found Jamelle Bouie's piece especially interesting in this regard. It reminded me a bit of Richard Skinner's observations about authenticity in an earlier post. Bouie sets up a dichotomy in which Bush can either remain true to his own character and ideals, or change to match the party's preferences. But he also acknowledges that, "Romney spent half a decade courting the various factions of the GOP before winning the nomination in 2012." Major points for acknowledging that party politics is a process, and not just a matter of fixed preferences or personalities.