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Jeb Bush Puts Toe in Water for Presidential Run
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
January 2, 2015
All Rights Reserved.
Resigning from a variety of corporate boards,
61-year-old former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashed his cards about a possible 2016
presidential run. Since leaving
office Jan. 2, 2007, Bush has done little other than sit on corporate boards,
earning the easy money offered to well-heeled patrons with political clout. “On December 24, 2014 John Ellis
“Jeb” Bush notified the Board of Directors of Tenet Healthcare Corporation
[“Tenet”] of his decision to resign from the Board, to be effective Dec. 31,
2014,” read the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Jeb hasn’t disclosed how much he
earned after leaving the Florida governorship and joining the easy money from
various corporate boards. Tenet
left no doubt about the reasons behind Jeb’s resignation. “Mr. Bush is not resigning on
account of any disagreement with Tenet,” said the announcement, saving Jeb’s
credibility.
Tenet made explicit that Bush didn’t resign because of
conflicts-of-interest or some other malfeasance, the most common reason for
giving up lucrative do-nothing jobs.
“The size of the board will be reduced from ten directors to nine,” said
the SEC filing, practically admitting, that Tenet created the position for the
well-connected brother of former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Whether or not Bush resigns from all
possible conflicts-of-interest, the fact remains that he’s served on numerous
corporate boards after leaving the Florida statehouse. Instead of returning to the family
business or some other profession outside elected office, Bush’s resume involves
sitting on paid corporate boards to give them insider access Bush family
political connections. When Jeb
tests the water on a presidential run, his board involvements won’t be a plus.
When the 2016 presidential sweepstakes heat up later in 2015, Bush will
have to offer more on his resume than his relationship to his father and
brother. Without any solid foreign
policy or economics background, Bush will have difficulty debating with the more
versed members of the 2016 GOP presidential cohort. With heavyweights like Sen. Ted Cruz
(R-Tx.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie, Dr. Ben Carson, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee, etc., Jeb Bush won’t have the luxury of selling himself on his
family’s past reputation. When his
brothers George left office in 2009, he left the country with two active foreign
wars, in the worst recession since the Great Depression Any association to his father
or brother’s economic track record would frighten off potential GOP donors.
Bush’s decision to resign from corporate boards signal his intent at
least to test whether or not the Koch brothers or some other billionaire donor
can get behind his candidacy.
Jumping out ahead to the pack sounds like a good strategy but carries certain
risks, especially if no one jumps on the bandwagon. With so many GOP heavy hitters
expected to run for president, Jeb could find himself eclipsed by conservatives,
whose party-faithful tends to stick to religious and social conservative dogma. Running on his family’s name also
carries risks because of the nation’s condition at the end of Bush-43’s
presidency. Bush’s argument to
donors and voters will hinge on electability, insisting he has a better shot in
a national election because of his ties to the Latin community through his
Mexican wife Columba. When debating
the issues, Jeb will have to know more than his wife’s family background.
Bush announced after Thanksgiving that he’s startign a leadership PAC to
“actively explore the possibility of running for president of the United
States,” jumping ahead of a long list of possible GOP presidential candidates. Bush hopes his political pedigree
will convince donors that he’s the most viable GOP candidate to compete against
former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. What Bush has in common with Clinton
is only family pedigree. When you
examine foreign policy and economics background, Hillary has far more experience
than Bush. Bush’s only real
argument against Hillary is that she’s too liberal for mainstream voters. Bush hopes to sell his moderate GOP
credentials, something out of vogue with the vast majority of party donors,
primary voters and political donors.
Offering himself as the best alternative to Hillary won’t sell too well.
Resigning from all kinds of corporate boards opens up the true nature of
Jeb’s experience after retiring from elective office as governor of Florida Jan.
2, 2007. Serving on various
corporate boards for the last seven years doesn’t sit well with voters seeking
solid economic and foreign policy credentials.
Divorcing himself from his father or brother’s economic policies won’t be
easy for Jeb. With the economy
humming along, it’s going to be difficult for any GOP presidential candidate to
convince voters they need a change of direction.
Bush “is reviewing his business engagements as he now actively explores a
run for the presidency,” said Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell, commenting why
her boss has resigned from various corporate boards. While there’s nothing wrong with
getting a head start on fundraising, Jeb has a lot of selling to do to get into
primetime.
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