MILWAUKEE — The feud between Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio is getting more vicious by the day.
So it was interesting Tuesday when Al Cardenas, a top surrogate for the former two-term Florida governor, declined to rip into Rubio as unqualified for the presidency when reporters offered him the chance during a brief interview Tuesday. The Bush campaign and supportive independent super PAC has been pushing the meme that the first-term Florida senator isn’t prepared for the rigors of the Oval Office.
Cardenas declined to go that far.
“I think Gov. Jeb Bush is the most qualified candidate to be president. There are others who could be qualified, who can be qualified, but no one is as qualified,” Cardenas said. “The voters are doing job interviews to see who is the most qualified, not to see who is qualified. I would guess most of the candidates running are qualified to be president. But that’s not what the search is all about. The search is, who is the most qualified, and that most qualified is Jeb Bush.”
Bush is on the ropes heading into the fourth debate, cablecast by the Fox Business Network from the Milwaukee Theater in downtown Milwaukee. After a debate performance 12 days ago in Colorado that Bush has admitted was subpar, he needs to have a good night in Wisconsin to quell the doubters and keep his supporters from jumping ship. Rubio is among the candidates viewed as the most likely recipient of disappointed Bush supporters.
That explains the logic behind the Bush campaign’s attacks on Rubio. Sewing uncertainty about his qualifications and electability is Team Bush’s way of trying to keep their supporters — and particularly their campaign contributors —in the fold. On Monday, the New York Times reported that Right to Rise USA, the Bush super PAC, is considering running millions in television ads against Rubio.
The Rubio camp struck back with a video replaying many of the complimentary things Bush has said about the senator over the years. The two are former political allies and Bush has said in the past that he believed Rubio was fit for the presidency. Rubio was vetted for a possible vice presidential nomination four years ago. Rubio is running third in the RealClearPolitics.com average of national GOP polls; Bush is running a distant fifth.
Bush attacked Rubio for missing Senate votes to campaign for president in the previous debate. But the senator easily handled the volley and got the better of the exchange, making Bush look weak in the process.
