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BOULDER, Colorado — Jeb Bush's beleaguered presidential campaign was dealt another blow at Wednesday's debate when the candidate's high-stakes gambit to attack an opponent he once considered his protege badly backfired.
Bush entered CNBC's Republican primary debate with stubbornly lackluster poll numbers, unimpressive fundraising, and some of the worst press he has received all year — fueled by morbid anonymous quotes from skittish donors and allies. As one Bush fundraiser put it to the Washington Post, "It feels very much like a death spiral, and it breaks my heart."
Bush looked to escape the "death spiral" — and revive his supporters' confidence in his 2016 viability — with a commanding debate performance, which included lambasting Marco Rubio for his record of skipping Senate votes.
"I'm a constituent of the senator and I helped him and I expected that he would do constituent service, which means that he shows up to work," Bush said, going on to describe the young Floridian, whose political rise he has long supported, as a "gifted politician."
Bush then angled toward Rubio, who was situated next to him on stage, and addressed him directly by his first name.
"But Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work," he said. "I mean, literally, the Senate — what is it, like a French work week? You get, like, three days where you have to show up? You can campaign, or just resign and let someone else take the job."
"I get to respond, right?" Rubio asked the moderators, coolly. He then pointed out that the 2008 Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, missed Senate votes during his campaign, as well.
"I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record," Rubio told Bush. "The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."
The loud applause from the audience that followed drowned out Bush's bid at formulating a comeback — thus bringing an end to the candidate's attempt at a game-changing moment.
Bush spent the rest of the evening turning in the same sort of awkward, listless performance that has marked his other debate appearances this year. When a moderator asked him whether he would support a hypothetical budget deal that included $10 of spending cuts for every one dollar of tax increases, he struggled to articulate an answer and ended up fumbling for a joke.
"You find a Democrat that's for cutting taxes — cutting spending ten dollars, I'll give them a warm kiss," he said.
Source BuzzFeed - Politics http://ift.tt/1P6CVFK
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