Jeb Bush denies 'Bush family baggage,' but it may be impossible to shake in 2016

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is on a book tour, promoting his new book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution. On Sunday, Jeb Bush performed the extraordinary task of appearing on five major Sunday talk shows to not only promote his book, but to gauge interest in whether he can run a viable, winning campaign for President of the United States in 2016 as the Republican nominee.

The toughest questioning came from Fox News host Chris Wallace who pointed out to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Sunday that his brother, George W. Bush, had been “somewhat unpopular” when he left office in 2009.

“Do you think there is any Bush baggage?” Wallace wondered. “Do you think that would be a problem?”

“No,” the former Florida governor replied. “I don’t think there’s any Bush baggage at all. I love my brother, I’m proud of his accomplishments, I love my dad, I am proud to be a Bush.”

“And if I run for president, it’s not because of something in my DNA that compels me to do it. It would be that it’s the right thing to do for my family, that the conditions are right and that I have something to offer.”

Regardless of the answers Jeb Bush gave to Chris Wallace of Fox News, Jeb Bush still has a problem. A big one.

"Bush family baggage."

The "Bush family baggage" does not relate so much to his father the 41st president, former President George H.W. Bush, who was considered to have had a modestly successful reign as President for his four years.

It is the other member of the Bush family that was the 43rd president, former President George W. Bush that carries the title of "Bush family baggage."

Jeb Bush heard the question quoted often on Sunday on the various talk shows, such as CBS Face the Nation, CNN State of the Union, Fox News Sunday, NBC Meet the Press and ABC This Week. Even on Univision, the Spanish speaking network.

"Bush family baggage."

It means the Iraq War that was the first pre-emptive war in American history and one of the nation's longest wars. A war that critics now affirm was an "unnecessary war." It was a war that then Senator Barack Obama successfully campaigned against for the Presidency in 2008. A war that was started as a search for Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMDs. A war in which WMDs were never found because they didn't exist.

"Bush family baggage."

It means the Afghanistan War which started on October 7, 2001 and is still going on to this day. It is the longest war in American history and the end will be sometime in 2014. The benefits of this war are limited and former President George W. Bush lost sight of the mission in Afghanistan. 2,177 Americans have been killed in the long war, with thousands wounded. Like Vietnam, the purpose of the war unclear.

With two of the longest wars in American history to his credit, former President George W. Bush will not be able to shake the blame for these wars and his brother Jeb Bush running for President will only serve to remind the American people of those failures.

"Bush family baggage."

The there is the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts that only served to deepen the national debt and failed to deliver what was promised" economic prosperity. Those tax cuts assured America, which was on its way toward annual surplus budgets and paying down the national debt, it would be doomed to stay in debt indefinitely.

Two unnecessary wars and two unnecessary tax cuts. That is the George W. Bush legacy and it is a burden that his brother, generally considered a competent governor of Florida, will have to live with.

"Bush family baggage."

But perhaps the most devastating legacy that George W. Bush was the deepest recession in American history. In mid-2007, the big bubble of the high-flying housing market collapsed. Whether it really was George W. Bush's fault that it happened, the problem is it did happen on his watch. That may be the biggest legacy of all and which is why the candidacy of his brother, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush may never get off the ground.

It is that "Bush family baggage." More specifically, it is that "George W. Bush family baggage" that is the real problem.

Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions at johnpresta@att.net.

John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns.