Wrong candidate for this moment: Other views

Beth Reinhard, The Wall Street Journal: “Jeb Bush’s Republican presidential campaign failed largely for one reason: He was the wrong candidate for this moment. The former Florida governor and kin to two American presidents brandished the longest political pedigree, the heaviest policy book and one of the impressive résumés, only to fall to rivals without any of those assets.”

For Bush, it's not his father's GOP: Our view

Eli Stokols, Politico: “The entire premise of Bush’s candidacy now looks like a misread of an electorate that wasn’t amenable to establishment candidates — and a misunderstanding of a modern media environment ill-suited to a policy wonk who speaks in paragraphs, not punchy sound bites. He couldn’t sell experience to an electorate that wanted emotion. He couldn’t escape his last name. His millions couldn’t buy popular support.”

Todd S. Purdum, Vanity Fair: “As other campaigns scrambled to raise money, Bush’s PAC had money to burn, and burn it they did, mailing small video players with a 15-minute Jeb! documentary pre-downloaded to voters in New Hampshire, and buying digital billboard space in Iowa, where Bush wound up spending nearly $3,000 a vote and finishing in sixth place. Despite his longtime reputation as the smarter Bush brother, John Ellis Bush showed himself to have many fewer political IQ points than President George W. Bush ever had on his worst day. ... The hortatory exclamation point at the end of his campaign logo only served to underline the oldest truth in politics from Jack Kennedy to Ronald Reagan: If you’ve got it, you don’t have to flaunt it.”

Seth Stevenson, Slate: “I know his brother was an awful president and I know he was a terrible candidate. But it’s a shame that we caricaturized him out of existence this past year. He’s more than his unfortunate exclamation point. He’s not a walking sad-face emoji. Given that the president serves as an avatar for our nation — the face we show the world, the mirror that reflects who we are — integrity in a candidate is no small thing. Earnest attention to detail is to be applauded. Willingness to listen is a mark of solid judgment. Empathy for the afflicted bespeaks good character. ... The Republican race snipped its strongest tether to decency when Jeb Bush bowed out Saturday night.”