THE COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE BRAND JUST WINS ELECTIONS:

[T]he speculation about a Bush bid in 2016 tells us a lot about one of the handful of truly influential American families and more than a little bit about the country that family has helped shape.

Jeb long ago internalized and then lived out his family's guiding precepts. Bushes move to new parts of the country; they work hard; they learn from their mistakes, particularly from failed campaigns; and they never, ever give up. His grandfather Prescott Bush was raised in Columbus, Ohio, and settled in Greenwich, Conn., after marrying Dorothy Walker, the daughter of G.H. Walker of St. Louis and New York City. Prescott was a tireless partner at Brown Brothers Harriman, an investment firm, and lost two races for the U.S. Senate before winning a seat from Connecticut in 1952.

His son George loved his father but wanted to break away from the life of a commuter in a New Yorker short story, and so the great move to Odessa, Texas, after World War II and Yale. George H.W. Bush also lost the first race he ever ran, for the Senate in 1964, before winning two House races and then losing again for the Senate in 1970. Then came a decade of public service in appointive jobs before he improbably challenged Ronald Reagan in 1980. Bush endured, however, and prevailed on his own at last in 1988.

Little of this was lost on Jeb Bush, whose life mirrors larger shifting American realities. His wife Columba was born in Mexico; he moved to Florida, turning it into his version of his grandfather's Northeast or his father's Texas. And he too suffered that tough loss for governor in 1994, learning from it and then coming back four years later. [...]

Those who think "Bush fatigue" is pre-emptively fatal to Jeb's chances may be underestimating the American affinity for brand names. The Bushes aren't kings; in managementspeak, they're a line of related products that most Americans recognize and have chosen on three (1988, 2000 and 2004) of the four occasions they've been on offer. Will we have a chance to buy another? George W., whose approval ratings are rising as the years pass, has said he'd like his brother to try for it.

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