Here Comes the Jeb Bush Comeback

He's got a familiar name, the Republican Party establishment likes him, and his super PAC's richer than Croesus, so it may be too early to write off Jeb Bush, according to Michael Dougherty at the Week. Bush certainly faces plenty of challenges, including dire poll numbers, Dougherty writes, but fellow establishment candidate Marco Rubio is failing to gain traction, meaning Bush and his resources could still end up as the party's best chance of avoiding having Donald Trump or Ted Cruz as its nominee. If you're "wagering on the Republican race, Jeb Bush is the best 'value bet,'" Dougherty decides, noting that people are attracted to comeback stories like that of John McCain, who beat the odds to win the nomination in 2008. "Everyone thinks he's toast. But he still has a real shot."

Not so fast, says Ed Kilgore at New York, who considers Dougherty's lines of reasoning pretty shaky. Marco Rubio's failure to catch fire is more likely to benefit Chris Christie or John Kasich, he writes, and while the pro-Bush super PAC Right to Rise still has plenty of money, it has already blown $50 million with little to show for it. Also, Kilgore writes, McCain's 2008 miracle stands out because it "was a miracle, involving a candidate demolition derby that McCain luckily negotiated like Mr. Magoo." If Bush manages to pull off a comeback, "it will be in defiance of just about everything we've learned" up until now, Kilgore decides. (Jeb has abandoned the trademark for "Jeb!")