Jeb Bush, the doomed prince of the Bush dynasty

Jeb Bush has failed to bring back the glorious legacy of the Bush family, America’s most prominent political family of today. The Republican presidential candidate announced the suspension of his campaign after losing the South Carolina primary. His wife Columba shed tears upon watching her husband’s announcement. Her tears implied concerns for the unfamiliar sense of loss and frustration the “invincible Bush” would have to go through. She rarely appeared in public and did not welcome her husband’s candidacy at the beginning.

Jeb Bush’s public image has always been the weak, spoiled prince of the Bush family, particularly compared to his reckless competitor, Donald Trump. However, he was a surprisingly aggressive young man when it came to love. He fell in love at first sight with a girl named Columba, whom he met during his visit to Mexico as part of a study-abroad program in his 12th grade at Philips Academy, a prestigious private boarding school. He insisted marriage with his Hispanic high school sweetheart who barely spoke English against his family tradition and finally achieved his love. Forty years into happy marriage, he still says his life has been completely different before and after Columba.

Such boldness and perseverance, however, have disappeared in his campaigns. Although he was literally considered to have all that takes to win an election, backing from two former president Bushes, his father and brother, and the largest funding among all candidates and his career as governor of Florida, the voters were shooed away by his background rather than being appealed. Despite full support from his mother and brother at the recent South Carolina primary, he failed to heat up the already cooled down popularity against him.

Some say that Jeb is the biggest scape goat of the Trump syndrome. The public outrage and aversion towards the privileged have contributed to wiping Bush’s name out of the candidate list. Bush’s belated frustration reminds us of the truth that no one can spare ups and downs of life. Sometimes our biggest drawbacks turn out to be a blessing in disguise, and other times vice versa. That is the universal truth of life.

고미석기자 mskoh119@donga.com