... except that McCain got drank on maverick ale, went down to South Carolina to pick a fight with Pat Robertson, who was out of politics, and refused to give the base any reason at all to get excited about him. It was, "I'm a maverick, and I'm running on the three things on which I disagree with the party, and the press loves it, and I'm going to rub your nose in it."
All McCain needed to do at that point was give the base a couple of issues to get excited about. He refused. The rest is history.
Now comes Jeb. He's soft on immigration and suspect on common core. Those are handicaps but not necessarily fatal. But he has not lifted a finger to light a fire under the base. There are 101 issues out there. I don't expect a candidate to agree with me on all of them (though immigration is a biggie). But I do want a candidate with a passion to achieve at least a couple of the things that are important. If Bush has any fire, he's got it under an asbestos blanket.
Dunno. With his “Spanish is the new American reality” response to Trump, it seems to me like Jeb is actively fighting against the conservative base. In other words, he has little to offer anyone who love the Republic.
‘Bout the only thing that could excite me about Jeb would be an announcement that he will only appoint strict contructionist judges of the caliber of Scalia and Thomas to the Supreme Court and for all his other judicial appointments. That MIGHT trump (heh) his support of Amnesty and Common Core.