Jeb Bush's Campaign On Life Support After Rough Debate
NBC News:
BOULDER, Colo. The biggest story from last night's debate wasn't Marco Rubio's strong performance (which it was), Ted Cruz stealing a moment (which he did), or the candidates and GOP audience attacking the media (which most definitely happened).
Rather, the most significant story from last night is that Jeb Bush's campaign now finds itself on life support, especially after Bush swung and missed when trying to hit Rubio over his Senate voting record. As one Republican operative told NBC's Peter Alexander, Bush had to demonstrate to his supporters and donors after a rough last few weeks that the former Florida governor could land a punch, particularly after telegraphing to the political world that it was coming. But Bush missed. Badly.
It was the equivalent of a teenager who, after telling the whole school that he was going to fight a classmate at lunchtime, ended up being the one taking the licking. We've covered politics long enough to know that a presidential candidate can rise from the dead (John McCain), withstand a bad debate performance (Barack Obama), and shine when it counts rather than months before the first votes are cast (John Kerry). But Jeb Bush is in trouble right now. Big trouble.