The joyful tortoise who had promised an optimistic campaign cant ignore his rivals attacks anymore.
BY SEEMA MEHTA
The self-described joyful tortoise in the race for the GOP p**********l nomination is more angry than happy these days.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who promised an optimistic campaign focused on his record rather than attacks on his rivals, has departed from that approach and begun to forcefully confront front-runner Donald Trump.
Last week, Bushs campaign released a video and an online quiz targeted at Trump supporters that played up Trumps past backing for a******n rights, universal healthcare and Democratic candidates, including front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. The quiz also got personal, going after Trumps well-known phobia of germs.
The man is not conservative, Bush told reporters in Miami on Tuesday. Besides, he tries to personalize everything. If youre not totally in agreement with him, youre an i***t or stupid or dont have energy or blah blah blah.
Thats a notable change in posture and tone for a candidate who is better known for his cerebral, wonky manner than his swagger. The shift is driven by Trumps relentless and personal needling of Bush, whom he described Thursday as a very low-energy person and a little bit sad, as well as by Trumps unexpected and continuing dominance in the polls.
Trump goes after most of his Republican rivals, but seems to especially enjoy poking at Bush, for whom he once hosted a fundraiser at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
On Wednesday, Trump criticized Bush for speaking Spanish at a news conference. He should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States, he told Breitbart News. Trump has retweeted a critic who said Bush has to like the Mexican I******s because of his wife, who was born in Mexico.
Trump trolls Bush on social media, arguing that the candidate is ashamed of his last name and highlighting a 2013 remark by former First Lady Barbara Bush that the nation had had enough Bushes as president.
Mother knows best, Jeb! Trump said on that post, on Instagram. Trumps campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Political observers say Bush was forced to act.
At a certain point, you have to respond. Because if you dont, you look like youre a punching bag, said Tim Hagle, a political scientist at the University of Iowa. Bush has fallen to sixth place in an aggregate of recent polls in Iowa, which holds the first nominating contest in the nation.
Hagle noted that some of Bushs supporters had expressed concern over whether the wonky candidate, who hasnt run for office since 2002, could deal with the slashing nature of modern-day politics. Hes got to show he has some fight in him, Hagle said.
Its a question that dogged Bushs father, noted Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont Mc-Kenna College and a former national GOP official. President George H.W. Bush had been the subject of a 1987 Newsweek cover story that said the then-vice president was fighting the wimp factor.
Now the younger Bush has to prove that hes not a wimp, Pitney said. The father fought back with pointed attacks on his rivals and the media, but Pitney questions whether that that is enough to tackle Trump, whose draw for v**ers is based more on personality than his record. Im not sure that the attack on Trumps consistency is going to work. People are supporting him not because of consistency but because of brassiness.
Brassiness is not a quality that has ever been associated with Jeb Bush, who lacks the Texas-twanged charisma of his brother, President George W. Bush.
For much of the summer, Jeb Bush pointedly avoided showing antagonism. When members of the news media would ask him about Trump, Bush would respond, but he never brought up Trump himself, professing a lack of interest.
I dont spend a lot of quality time going over the Trump message, Bush told the Daily Caller, a conservative publication, in July.
The new vigor for a candidate who has enviable advantages in fundraising but has floundered in the polls is purposeful and will continue, according to Bush campaign spokesman Tim Miller.
Increasingly it has become clear that Trump was going to run a legitimate campaign, so hes being treated as a legitimate candidate. Part of that is contrasting Gov. Bushs proven conservative record with Donald Trumps past as a New York liberal, Miller said. This is going to be a sustained attack, a sustained campaign from Gov. Bush, to highlight the differences between him and Mr. Trump.
Bushs supporters appreciate the turn.
In many ways, Donald Trump is a gift to Jeb Bush because he perfectly provides a very clear contrast to Jebs record of conservative reform and accomplishment in Florida, said Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the Right to Rise USA super PAC, which has raised more than $100 million to back Bushs bid but is legally not allowed to coordinate with his effort. The campaign is capitalizing on that, and rightly so.
The super PAC paid for an airplane to carry a banner reading Trump 4 higher taxes. Jeb 4 Prez over a August Trump rally in Alabama but has focused its efforts on biographical television ads introducing Bush to early-state v**ers. Lindsay said the group would not rule out future defensive action.
We certainly reserve the right to defend Gov. Bushs record and contrast it with all the other candidates in the race, including Donald Trump, Lindsay said.
All the sparring comes before the second GOP p**********l debate Sept. 16 at the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley. Moderators are likely to seize on the acrimony, as they tried to do unsuccessfully during an August debate. In that faceoff, Bush didnt tear into Trump, unlike some of his rivals, notably Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Bushs performance in that debate a former governor compared with a showman was widely panned.
Its tough because its a tactic Trump comes by naturally preternaturally
and for Jeb, its a learned reaction, said Reed Galen, a GOP strategist who worked for President George W. Bush.
But given Bushs increased aggression, he may not have the option to sidestep Trump this time.
Hes painted himself into that corner, Galen said. If he doesnt, then people will say he backed off, and Trump may very well seize on that. seema.mehta@latimes.com   Twitter: @LATSeema
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