It was late last year when former Florida governor Jeb Bush mused that he might have to “lose the primary to win the general [election]” in 2016. Bush’s oddly phrased point was that rather than try to appeal to the most conservative voters in the GOP base, he’d instead hew to the center. That would spare him the inevitable awkwardness of running to the hard right in the primary, and then “etch-a-sketching” his way back to the center during the general election.

Yet, several months into the primary season, Bush seems to have jettisoned his strategy before he could even implement it. Aside from his wan countenance, which some see as evidence of “moderation,” and his minor heresy on Common Core, Bush is running pretty much as a down-the-line conservative, trumpeting his record cutting taxes, defunding Planned Parenthood, and blaming Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the sorry state of Iraq. Note to pundits: wearing glasses and speaking softly does not a RINO make.