John Ellis Bush, more commonly known
as ‘Jeb’ is son to George H.W. Bush and brother to George W. Bush, this man is
bred to be a politician. With that being said, Jeb also has a lot to live up
to, as well as convincing the naysayers of his relatives who held the
presidency that he is not the same person as them.
Simply from the name Jeb Bush one
would imagine him to be a good presidential candidate. However, Jeb does not
deserve to be on the ballot solely based on his last name; a fact which he is
well aware of. Luckily for him he has some good credentials behind his own name
that will give him some assistance.
In high school Jeb showed large
interest in serving others when he studied in Mexico and ended up teaching
people in the area. This is likely what lead Jeb to take the route he did in
college by choosing his field of study. Bush went to the University of Texas at
Austin wherein he earned a degree in Latin American Studies. A short while
after receiving his degree in Texas Bush moved to Florida in 1980. In the
coming years Bush would run, and win, the position of Secretary of Commerce in
Florida. After getting his feet wet in politics Jeb ran to be the Governor of
Florida in 1994 but lost to the incumbent. The loss did not discourage Bush. He
ran again in 1998 only this time the outcome was different. Bush was the
governor from 1998 until 2007 and became the first and only republican to date
to be a two term Florida Governor. He was reelected for reasons such as cutting
20 billion in taxes among other beneficial ways he assisted the public. Since 2007
Jeb has returned to doing private work rather than being employed by the
government.
In addition to Bush having his own
political experience his father and brother have both been President of the
United States prior to this so he is no stranger to what he is getting into. Although
this is not to be alarming to voters since Bush will not rely on his name to
win him the election. Recently Bush was quoted saying “I know for a fact that
if I am going to be successful going beyond the consideration [of running for
president], then I’m going to have to do it on my own” according to
nbcnews.com. This quote alone goes to show voters that Bush has done well for
himself without simply pulling the card that his dad is the president.
The recognition Bush has of who his
family members are and that he does not wish for it to help him speaks volumes
about the personality he is. The fact that he is able to recognize this in
addition to his past work in politics and his clear successes as a business man
show that Jeb would be a great candidate for presidency; his resume is fruitful
and he has been blessed with a level of intelligence needed to succeed.
You've talked a lot about how Jeb's ties to the two former Bush presidents should not impact his race and that he isn't planning on using his name to win him a presidency. But the fact remains that he is a Bush, and his father and brother were both presidents, and it is part of his legacy whether he would prefer it or not. What would you say to people that think his running/becoming president would make the presidency look a little more like a hereditary monarchy than a democratically elected position? Especially if he was running as the sole Republican candidate vs. Democrat Hillary Clinton, another family member of a former president?
ReplyDeleteI agree that it will be difficult for Jeb to get away from his last name for as long as he is involved in politics. I do not think that he is trying to dissociate with his family, rather trying to explain thoroughly to people that he is going to take personal stances on issues and not run the country just like his family would. It would still remain a democratically elected position from any view because it is something that gives the people confidence in voting for him since he is well-known. He has been in politics himself and the public eye for some time now.
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