Bush: Well-Funded Indifference

Seema Mehta writes at The Los Angeles Times:

On paper, Jeb Bush is the perfect establishment candidate for the Republican presidential nomination:

A two-term governor of a crucial swing state who oversaw economic expansion and spearheaded education reform.

A conservative, but with a cerebral, optimistic tone that probably won't enrage moderate voters, unlike the unabashed social-issue warriors in the GOP field.

A prolific fundraiser whose advantage stems from the powerful donor networks of his brother, former President George W. Bush, and his father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Yet the former Florida governor — for all his might on paper — has failed to catch on with Republican voters.

In recent weeks, his strongest showing was in the low double digits in polls both nationally and in the states that hold the first contests in the 2016 race for the White House. A CNN/ORC poll taken in Iowa and released Wednesday showed Bush with 5% support compared with front-runner Donald Trump's 22%.

AP reports:

The heavily funded super PAC backing Republican Jeb Bush will spend at least $10 million on television time in the earliest voting presidential primary states, the first salvo in a massive TV ad campaign to support the former Florida governor's bid for the Republican nomination.

Officials with Right to Rise USA say they will buy time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina TV markets and on cable television in the three states. Ads are scheduled to begin in Iowa and New Hampshire on Sept. 15, in South Carolina a week later and then run continuously through the end of the year.