Jeb Bush's campaign was supposed to be relatively easy. Even before he officially announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for president, he was largely assumed, among the party and public, to be the GOP's only viable option to challenge likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in November.
Bush is general seen as somewhat of a policy wonk who tends not to get embroiled in petty political disputes. But no one predicted what was coming in 2015. Donald Trump's candidacy announcement sent shock waves across the nation when he claimed that Mexico was sending "rapists" and "drug dealers" over the border. This was only the first in a long series of Trump's incendiary, offensive and often false campaign remarks.
However, Trump's rough edges appear to have only further endeared him to the Republican base. Trump used his new position as the GOP front-runner to lob insults at Bush, calling him "low energy," among other things. Since these attacks, the Bush campaign has had trouble trying to reframe its message, improve its poll numbers or pay political retribution to the billionaire real-estate magnate.
That's not good news for the Republicans' one-time favorite son. Some have pointed to Bush's positions on immigration or his debate performances as reasons for his lackluster performance in the polls. Others say good manners have done him in, making him appear weak next to Trump, whose tendency to "speak his mind" is often cited as a reason he appeals to voters.
The New York Times attributes this shifting of values to a rejection of the behavior of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (long considered, by some, the dominant ethnic group in America) by mainstream American voters. According to the Times, values such as good manners and reserved criticism are integral to leading a healthy and happy life in a privileged community. But the polls seem to indicate that many voters in America don't agree.
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