NY TIMES
Jeb Bush began exploring a presidential run by declaring that he would be his own man. But he is struggling to navigate his relationship with George W. Bush and his legacy. He has fumbled the most basic, predictable questions about the Iraq war — while behind the scenes, he has assured skeptical conservatives that he draws wisdom and important counsel from the former president.
In recent weeks, as he strove to soothe supporters of Israel who questioned his commitment in closed-door meetings, Mr. Bush used his brother’s record on Israel as evidence of his own reliability — and went on to describe his brother as the person he listens to the most on Mideast issues.
It was a surprise to several of those who heard Mr. Bush say it — and to a number of people close to George W. Bush who learned of Mr. Bush’s remarks after the fact.
While the former president is said to be in touch with Jeb Bush’s campaign from time to time, the two brothers do not speak frequently, according to people close to both men. The uneasiness stems in part from the two men’s awkward relationship, which was never close and was often competitive. But it also reflects Mr. Bush’s challenge in trying to deal with a fractured electorate in which some conservatives cling to the former president, but he remains a focus of anger across much of the rest of the political spectrum.
In private conversations, Mr. Bush’s allies have often taken note that his brother’s approval ratings among likely primary and caucus voters are sky high. A Quinnipiac University survey this month showed George W. Bush’s favorability at 81 percent among likely Republican caucus goers in Iowa. People familiar with Republican polling in South Carolina say the former president’s numbers are similarly strong among primary voters there.
In both states, conservative Christians, who were among the most devoted members of George W. Bush’s coalition in 2000, are major factors. Jeb Bush, whose positions on immigration reform, education standards and other issues have cost him, could benefit from his brother’s reflected glow with evangelicals.
[On the other side of the coin,] Mr. Bush must win over Republicans, whose economic views have grown increasingly populist since George W. Bush’s last year in office.
Anger over the bank bailouts of 2008 and the former president’s approach to government spending were important ingredients in the rise of the Tea Party movement, which has made the Republican Party vastly less hospitable to candidates seen to represent the party’s establishment.
But no issue is as fraught for Mr. Bush as the Iraq war. During a television interview this week, Mr. Bush suggested that he still supported invading Iraq even with hindsight knowledge about intelligence failures. He later said he had misunderstood an interviewer’s question, but refused to answer it, saying it was a “hypothetical.” On Wednesday, he said such hypotheticals were insensitive to the families of fallen soldiers in the war.