Jeb! Bush has had enough and he isn't going to take it anymore! He and his campaign are gearing up to go toe-to-toe with The Donald—dishing out just as much as they have been taking in the last couple months,
reports Michael Barbaro.
It is a turning point in Mr. Bush’s campaign that was on display Monday in McAllen, Tex., along the border with Mexico. There, Mr. Bush called Mr. Trump’s immigration plan “unrealistic,” described his policies as un-Republican and acidly recommended that the businessman read Mr. Bush’s book “Immigration Wars” to acquaint himself with a practical solution.
The change in Mr. Bush’s tone is a calculated strategy, interviews show, with two different but crucial aims now that Mr. Trump is proving to be a long-term obstacle, not a passing nuisance: to dilute Mr. Trump’s right-wing support by proving that he is not a genuine conservative and to show a wary Republican Party that Mr. Bush is enough of a street fighter to survive a nasty nomination contest.
Here's the translation of this strategy: Jeb! ("the front-runner") is now playing Trump's game. If ever there was a losing strategy, it's that. Just a guess that this won't end well unless Jeb! suddenly manages to become a much better overall candidate than he's already proven to be.
Case in point: on Jeb!'s inaugural run, he called The Donald's immigration plan "unrealistic." Ouch. Now there's a barb no one had thought of. Meanwhile, Trump's calling Jeb! a "low-energy person" and mocking him for suggesting that we need more "skin in the game" in Iraq. Jeb!'s not even bringing a knife to a gun fight, he's bringing a compostable spoon. Not to mention his penchant for gaffes that completely overshadow anything he actually meant to say.
Jeb!'s a policy guy who really isn't that great at policy (he proves that basically every time he opens his mouth). Trump is a style guy—you might hate his style but some love it and he's consistently good at effecting it. There's no way a strictly sub-par policy wonk can beat a style guy at his own game. And just in case Jeb!'s crack campaign operatives hadn't thought of this—none of Trump's supporters are interested in whether his policies are "unrealistic." In this matchup, style trumps policy every time.
