Bye-Bye, Jeb

Maybe he should have gone with a bigger exclamation mark.
(AP photo)

Shot:

Jeb Bush is entering a critical phase of his Republican presidential campaign, with top donors warning that the former Florida governor needs to demonstrate growth in the polls over the next month or face serious defections among supporters.

The warnings, expressed by numerous senior GOP fund­raisers in recent days, come as Bush and an allied super PAC are in the early stages of an aggressive television ad campaign they say will help erase doubts about his viability.

Chaser:

By now, you surely know that Donald Trump is the least-liked Republican candidate for president. How could he not be, after months and months of coverage of how disliked he is? A new Fox News survey reveals that, thanks to opposition from Democrats, Trump is indeed viewed less favorably than any other candidate.

But if you look only at Republican respondents, that changes: Republicans view Jeb Bush even worse.

Among all voters, Trump is at negative-25 — that is, he is viewed 25 points more unfavorably than favorably. Bush is at -21. Among Republicans? Bush gets lower marks than anyone, at plus-1. Even Chris Christie is at +4.

The fundraisers have given a rusty candidate just four weeks to turn around the worst favorability ratings in the GOP field. Adding to Jeb’s chore is that he’s never generated much love with voters, and his only real strength is (was?) with the fundraisers.

Not gonna happen.