DES MOINES, Iowa — Shaken but still fighting, Jeb Bush on Saturday took swipes at rivals Donald Trump and Marco Rubio while pleading his case for nominating an experienced leader to a capacity crowd of more than 2,000 likely Republican primary voters.
The former two-term Florida governor and former front-runner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination is coming off a disappointing performance in last week’s CNBC debate. Bush’s poll numbers have dropped, his campaign contributors are grumbling, and his overall prospects are questionable, as Trump, the billionaire New Yorker and reality television star, continues to lead the field and Rubio, the junior senator from Florida, has surged ahead of him. But Bush showed up at the Iowa State Fairgrounds energized.
Dressed in jeans and a casual button down shirt and jacket, he delivered a spirited speech to a gathering organized by the state Republican Party that focused on his record in Tallahassee and plans for the presidency while attempting to undercut his competitors. Bush didn’t mention Trump or Rubio by name, but it was clear from his past statements that he was criticizing the former for being bombastic and selfish, the latter Rubio for missing Senate votes to campaign for president.
“There are a lot of talkers in politics,” Bush said. “Trust me, I was on the debate stage, I see it; some really good people that are really good talkers. I hope you want someone with a servant’s heart, that acts on principles — that does things rather than just talks about them.”
Bush’s political challenges and hard road ahead in Iowa were laid bare by the reception he received from the crowd.
It was polite, but hardly the enthusiastic standing ovation given to both Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at the front and back ends of their respective speeches earlier in the day. Likewise, where Rubio and Cruz were mobbed by voters seeking autographs, pictures and handshakes after they spoke, Bush’s meet-and-greet with voters after his speech was a more staid affair, although steady.
Bush, upbeat as he mingled with likely Iowa caucus goers and campaign volunteers, conceded to reporters that he has to improve as a candidate. But the Floridian, son and brother of the last two Republican presidents, also was defiant, saying he thrives under adversity and that his campaign is in better shape than the media and his opponents have suggested.
“The last debate was kind of ridiculous. I would say, somewhat in jest, at least there was someone who [performed] worse in the last debate than me: CNBC,” Bush said, before adding: “I’m a grinder. This is like, for me, the greater the adversity, the more — first of all, it means I’m going to get better, I got to get better, I know I have to get better.”
I have enough self awareness — I don’t have this gigantic ego that says, well, they’re just stupid, Iowa voters don’t understand me, they’re eating Monsanto-laced agriculture products,” Bush added. “I have enough humility to know that I’ve got to get better,” Bush added. “But also, I’m a really competitive guy, and I do have a record, that on that stage is unmatched, and I’m going to go share it with passion and conviction, and I’m going to win.”
Bush, ranked seventh in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings, is currently running a distant fifth, both nationally and in Iowa, according to the RealClearPolitics average of public opinion polls, with less than a 100 days to go until the caucuses. Nationally, he trails Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Rubio and Cruz, in that order. In Iowa, Bush lags behind, in order, Carson, Trump, Rubio and Cruz.
It’s a disappointing for a candidate deemed a sure-bet when he entered the 2016 sweepstakes last December.
Bush’s problems were compounded by less than stellar third quarter fundraising results that forced the governor to slash campaign staff and expenses and re-orient his strategy from a national focus to one that places greater emphasis on New Hampshire, which voters after Iowa. The shakeup includes reinvigorated message focusing on Bush’s record of executive experience and accomplishment, beginning with the “Jeb Can Fix It” campaign swing that begins Monday in Florida before heading to South Carolina and New Hampshire.
Some of his supporters couldn’t hide their concern that the candidate they believe is the most qualified to be president has been overshadowed by more dynamic competitors.
“I think attacking Rubio probably is not the smartest thing,” said 50-something David Pinner, of Johnston, Iowa, who switched his support to Bush after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped out of the race in September. “Although he might not be doing real well in the polls, it’s early…We have three months, we’ll see what happens.”
Plenty others have more faith that it’s still early in the race and that the caucuses race would experience a traditional, late-breaking shakeup. “He has a great organization here in Iowa and that’s really what’s going to win the caucuses at the end of the day,” said Charles Schneider, 42, of West Des Moines.
“I think Jeb Bush is the finest man our country could provide as president,” added Maureen Boerner, 62, who traveled 135 miles south from Marion to Des Moines to hear Bush speak on Saturday. “It’ll shine through; it’ll shine through.”
Bush has built a well-oiled organization in the early primary states and those that vote later on. His grassroots supporters are experienced and connected. The Bush campaign operations also is backed by an independent super PAC, Right to Rise USA, that had raised more than $100 million by July and is presumed to have tens of millions left to spend on Bush’s behalf both before and after first votes are held in Iowa on Feb. 1.
Bush’s problems could run deeper.
Candidates like Trump, Carson, Rubio and Cruz have done well because their messages and communications skills fit a political atmosphere in which Republican voters have grown highly skeptical of government institutions and place less value on experience, versus change and a fresh approach. Conservatives are looking for combativeness and a sense of urgency in their politicians; Bush’s “joyful” approach doesn’t necessarily fit the bill.
Indeed, Bush, whose campaign is further burdened by the issue of dynasty, isn’t the only candidate with experience and a proven record of conservative reform to find himself trailing in this race. Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio also are struggling to gain traction. The question is whether Bush can overcome these innate challenges. He said that’s exactly what he expects to do.
“In October you had one set of rationale for people supporting candidates, and when you get to February you have a different set; been that way — may change, but history’s a pretty good guide on these things,” Bush said. “As you get closer, a couple things come to mind: Who can win and who can sit behind the big desk and that’s where experience and leadership, I think, matters.”
