What Can You Do for Jeb?

In focusing on politics as a nation we collectively ask the question “what can this candidate do for me?” This is only logical, but for someone like Jeb Bush that served for 8 years as the governor of Florida he has shown what he can do for the people. Jeb has shown aggressive and progressive ideologies on major issues such as immigration. He has shown that he is willing to take a stand for what he believes in and that he will not be a flip-flopper and switch sides on given issues even if his stance is not widely supported by everyone. Although this is only one issue displayed and Jeb’s view on it this is fairly good insight into his humanitarianism. Jeb has always been a humanitarian, even as a younger guy in high school where he went to Mexico to assist in teaching the locals. This shows that Bush is a genuine, kind-hearted man, not simply trying to better his image like so many other politicians attempt to do. 

He has clearly illustrated that he is focused on helping people. Jeb has run clean campaigns in the past only highlighting his abilities, not putting down his opponents; he has clear confidence in his abilities as a man and political leader. Since Jeb has shown that he is a large proponent in serving the community, this is one of the largest reasons that you should go out and give the Jeb campaign team some assistance. This assistance to Jeb’s campaign could come in a simple form such as posting on social media, whether that be your own positive vote about Jeb, or even re-posting and article. The more positive media out there about a candidate the more likely the will be to succeed.

Another way you could get involved in helping Jeb’s campaign out could be handing out fliers on your school’s campus or putting them in buildings for people to view. This is another simple, quick, as well as cost effective way to ensure that there is positive and helpful information out there about Bush. At a young age in grade school we are taught ‘the golden rule’, or to treat others as we would like to be treated; well, Jeb has already paid it forward and now it is our time to give back. In addition to this, Jeb is a good politician and has proved that in Florida. You should help his campaign not simply because he is a good guy, but also because he has shown that he is a capable and hard-working man in office. Lastly, after helping him out on the campaign trail should he run, you should VOTE FOR JEB in 2016! 

Reference:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/09/upshot/the-big-reason-republicans-should-hope-jeb-bush-runs.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0

https://www.aei.org/publication/jeb-bush-smiling/

Jeb in the News

When you do a Google search on Jeb Bush what you find immediately are what types of policies he is in favor of, as well as certain ways he has begun or will be fundraising. It is taking critical looks at these areas as if he is already deep in the race. The coverage is being done by the rather large media outlets. The coverage is coming from liberal sources, conservative sources, and middle of the road sources.

It is clear that in what I came across in my simple search of Jeb’s name that him and his people are not the ones generating the news, at least in these sources. In a CNN article it shows that Bush is in favor of President Obama’s NSA surveillance policy which is seemingly defended in the article. The CNN article reminds us why the NSA surveillance is a good thing from 9/11 and national security in general. The article also shows that Bush will not be the only republican candidate in favor of NSA surveillance being here to stay. This shows that they are taking what Bush had to say and essentially reinforcing his ideas and convincing the public of why it is a good idea.

On the converse side, coming from the New York Times, they show that PACs are gaining too much power and that it is a negative thing. While this may or may not be true, this is not an image that Jeb wants to have the public associate him with and the mindset they hold. For the reason that it is clear that Jeb would never have his team write this since it is negatively aimed toward him he is definitely not behind this article in any way either.

Although there are many negative opinions out there about Jeb, I do not think that these articles will really hurt his chances of having a successful candidacy. Jeb has been a successful politician in the past and this will bode well for him. In addition to this, he will have more difficulties overcoming his last name than what most people write about him. This is why Jeb should be seeking more of a positive coverage and showing the public that he is not just another Bush, but that he is Jeb. 

Sources 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/politics/jeb-bush-nsa-surveillance-metadata-program/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/upshot/super-pacs-gobbling-up-even-more-power-jeb-bush-edition.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0

The Media Bias

Fox news, a more conservative media outlet says that Jeb can be labeled as a ‘neoconservative’.  Jeb was pegged as a neoconservative by Fox due to the fact that in part of the team that he put together for foreign policy there were two people that were largely involved in George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. Fox is showing here that Jeb’s attempted image that he is struggling to create, which is that he is not his brother or his father, is a fake image. This is what marks Jeb as a neoconservative as he wants to revert back to old, traditional ways; they are showing that Bush wants to create a foreign policy that acts quickly similar to that of George W. Bush’s.  These are fairly accurate of Jeb and give potential insight into what many people believe in that while he claims to be different than his father and brother that he will not fall far from the tree.

Although Jeb craves to separate himself from his last name so people will pay attention to his political ideology and what he stands for, this has all been talk thus far. In most of the actions that Jeb has made in the past and current stances on issues he is showing signs that he will not differentiate too greatly from the presidency of George H.W., and especially George W. Although the fact that Jeb has put some controversial members on his team this is slightly unfair to go as far as to say that he is a neoconservative. After all, Jeb may just be picking people that he knows has a good work ethic and who he has worked with before which could be very possible due to his brother having worked with these individuals as well.

In the LA times article Jeb Bush decries liberal approaches in Detroit speech it shows a similar ideology to the Fox article, but by framing the ideas from the converse angle. This article shows Bush not encouraging conservativism as much as he is speaking out against liberalism. One prime example of this is in the excerpt where Jeb says “so I say let’s go where ideas will matter the most, where the failures of liberal government policies are most obvious”. Which since they are directly pulling quotes from his speech it provides a little more credibility and I do believe that Jeb wants to separate himself from the liberals. Although I do believe that Jeb is slightly more liberal than he and the rest of the media attempt to paint him out to be.

I would say that these articles are both rather fair so long as the individual is aware of what is being written about; if the reader is not aware of the biases in each writing this could give a false look at Jeb. I think that if an individual were to only read the Fox article and believe the entirety of what they read they would simply think that George Bush would be helping Jeb call the shots and that it would be another four years of the same old Bush.

References

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-jeb-bush-detroit-speech-20150204-story.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/02/18/jeb-bush-neoconservative/

Jeb's Image According to SNL

This Saturday Night Live sketch sketch portrays Jeb in a very negative light just as they like to do with the majority of politicians they include in their skits. It displays the actor playing Jeb as being somewhat a of a man that does more agreeing with the ideas of others than thinking for himself. This is illustrated in the skit since he mostly just agrees with the actor that plays Paul Ryan.

I think that this skit also attempts to display the fact that Jeb claims that if he were to win any position in office that he would not want to have his last name assist him in being victorious. This was obvious when the actor who played Jeb said “we’re part of a whole new GOP. Now, when you think of the old GOP you probably think of George W. Bush” which is clearly trying to show that Jeb would be referring to the work of his brother as low quality and something that he would not want to associate with. Although Jeb has stated that he does not want to win an election based on his last name I also think that it is pretty obvious that he would not be that opposed to the work of his relatives. The writers of this skit were attempting to take Jeb’s words and make them stronger than he intended to show that it is absurd that he believes that his last name will not play a large role in his campaign.

In addition to this, this skit shows that Jeb Bush, along with other politicians as well, have a difficult time closing the age gap with the younger generation. This is one aspect in the skit that likely holds a little more truth than the other targeted areas. Jeb is 62 years old, and while he is not the oldest potential candidate he is not the youngest candidate either. If the general public were to adopt the mindset that Jeb is the old man who is not fit to run the country this would be very difficult for him to overcome; after all, this was one of the large reasons that John McCain had a fair amount of people in opposition of him.

I do not think that this skit will have a large impact on the image of Jeb Bush for a few small reasons. The first reason that this will not impact his image all that much is due to the fact that he is a fairly well known politician and that people are already aware of who his family is. The second reason is that it is on a show that simply makes jokes rather than truly informing people. Although SNL was able to negatively impact the image of Sarah Palin this is because she was not as well-known and people believed that what was said on the show was once said by Palin herself. Although it does attempt to push against what Jeb’s image is it is clear that it is not successful in influencing the public. 

Jeb's Advertisement Style

In these advertisements it is clear that Bush is attempting to make a positive influence on his image. The strategies that are present in these ads are that he is shown largely interacting with the given demographic that he is talking about. Since Jeb is the incumbent candidate this is a necessary image to show the public since he is already in office and would want to display that he is for the people. In these advertisements he talks about making it more cost efficient for seniors to get their prescriptions filled and providing more funding to schools, both of which he is with the elderly and the young students or teachers. In showing the interactions with the people he is serving this shows that he is willing to listen and is relatable.

These advertisements are clearly positive advertisements seeing as he does not even mention his opponent or hint at them by what they are attempting to do. Bush is clearly focused on what his campaign is attempting to do and make these issues apparent to the public. In addition to presenting these issues he is also working on his image since in the advertisements he is also with the public which clearly shows that he cares.

I also think that a strong strategy that is present in targeting these demographics is that these are two demographics that cannot speak for themselves as much. Young children have no say and would not understand the negative implications if funding were to be cut. Also, since older people do not go out as much they are not going to be picketing or rallying to make sure that they are heard so it is important that they are represented. These are some typical topics that politicians take a solid stance on so I would not say that there is a gender strategy present but I do believe that Bush does a sound job of making it clear what he stands for in these short ads.

To further illustrate how he has accomplished these goals in the past and plans to continue to do so is by presenting statistics. He provided the statistic that school funding is up 3 billion dollars. However, he does not stop there; he continues on to show what he plans to do with this increased funding. I think that Bush uses these strategies to show that he has made improvements in the past and that he still has a plan for the future.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4519588/jeb-bush-campaign-ad-strategy-1st-bid-florida-governor-public-office

As an incumbent this is a necessary path to take to prove your past and remind people about your image as well as show the issues you plan to continue to target. Also, in the video above he states that he wants to run a positive campaign.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4519588/jeb-bush-campaign-ad-strategy-1st-bid-florida-governor-public-office

http://www.c-span.org/video/?173442-1/florida-gubernatorial-campaign-commercials

Jeb in The Polls

             When it comes to polling the feedback that is related to Jeb Bush is really not all that positive. In beginning my search what I first found on Bush was opposing the ideology that Jeb has a higher chance of winning an election based on his last name. According to the Washingtonpost.com, of all voters (Republican, Democrat, Independent) polled, 11 percent were more likely to vote for Jeb, 57 percent said his last name made no difference, and 33 percent said it made them less likely to vote for Jeb. This shows that while people in opposition of Jeb say that he is where he is because of his name, or a largely talked about candidate, in the end it will not do anything but hurt his chances. Although his name at this point will only have negative implications on his chances of becoming president, this could easily change when Jeb presents his campaign and fully presents his platform. In the completion of this he will hopefully be able to show the voters that he differs from his relatives in some regards but is similar in certain positive aspects. This would mean that Bush could use his name as leverage at his discretion.

             The graph above shows that Bush is a very well-known name across the nation. However, the problem that Jeb suffers is that more people are unfavorable of him than are favorable. This graph comes from Gallup.com which lets us know that it is likely reliable. Although this graph shows that Jeb has somewhat of an uphill battle it is approximately 8 months old. Since the graph is 8 months old that means that the results are out of date at this point. While out of date it still shows that there is likely an uphill battle for Bush still and will likely remain this way for a little while. Until the speculated candidates actually begin campaigning it will be difficult for Jeb to move a good amount, up or down, since there will not be much influence of his opinion on the voters.

Regardless of the fact that Jeb is rated as unfavorable one potential advantage that he has is that his name is known around the country. It would be difficult for Jeb to gain enough support to win if he were similar to O’Malley who people are unfamiliar with and not favorable to. However, Bush still has 31 percent of people who favor him. This will make it easier to get donations for campaigning, as well as develop a larger support group due to an already large base of support.

            In addition to this, Jeb is well-known, but not the most well-known candidate which can be shown in the picture above. This is important to take note of. Since Jeb Bush is only a familiar name with 65 percent of people this means that he can still have a new and lasting impression on 35 percent of voters; this could be the difference in a won or lost election. It will be crucial for Jeb to be extremely effective and stand out in positive ways to the other 35 percent. This in turn could also result in Bush gaining approval from the 34 percent who disapprove of him.

                                                               References

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/10/jeb-bush-faces-plenty-of-early-warning-signs/

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/2016_hillary_clinton_47_jeb_bush_33

http://www.gallup.com/poll/173402/clinton-best-known-best-liked-potential-2016-candidate.aspx

Jeb on Leadership: The Real Message

          In this video from Jeb's PAC, Right to Rise, on leadership there were many functions of political language that were being effectively used. Bush used agenda setting, interpretation and linkage, reflecting and projecting, action stimulation, identification, labeling, and creating drama. While all of these were used, there was definitely apparent overlap of the functions that were being used.

           

            He starts out by stating that under the Obama administration that there has been a lot of inconsistency and indecisiveness, which he then goes on to explain that this has led to the loss of trust and confidence of other nations. This is a clear usage of creating drama since he is not simply calling to attention what the problems are, but pointing out that these problems stem from the Obama administration. He exclaimed that the administration had made promises to make great change, but the change that resulted from this was America growing less influential. This example shows that Jeb is attempting to create drama by using interpretation and linkage.

           

            Jeb is attempting to stir up the pot and get people riled up with these statements by taking a problem and directly linking it to the Democratic Party that is currently in office. This takes partial form of reflecting and projecting as well. Bush is looking back on what the administration has done and is attempting to get others to see in hindsight that what Obama had hoped to do and what Obama accomplished were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Since he does not directly state what would be done in the future to have different outcomes from this it is hard to say fully that this would fall under projecting. However, it is clear that he believes that a different route should be taken from the one that the United States is currently on.

            

          Another function that played a large role was labeling. Bush stated that under this administration America has become weaker and in turn might as well be inviting war; if America was still as strong as they once were—and have potential to reach again—then this is what would promote peace. Bush has labeled the administration as weak and as one that is weak and cannot effectively achieve what they are aiming to.

            

          The function of labeling leads into action stimulation; Bush is attempting to get the American people to rally behind him and the Republican Party for a stronger America with strong values. He encourages everyone to back strong leadership because if this is reinstated, then the strong values which he has brought up will fall into place shortly thereafter. This leads into an overarching theme of identification that is in place throughout the video. Bush continually takes America and links it to himself, while he attempts to separate Obama and his administration from the greater good for America.

           
           Although Bush does not fully state what he would do to ensure that he is more effective than President Obama I think that this was still effective and he does not need to fully address all of his plan of action. This is not a speech directly related to his run for president so simply stating that change is needed from what is currently being done is definitely effective and makes for a quality message