Can Jeb Rebrand 'Bush'?
Bush team eyes tough primary fight with social-media push and warning of "Our McGovern."
February 4, 2015 DETROIT—His father was a post-Cold War statesman, loser of his 1992 reelection bid. His brother was a "compassionate conservative," a two-termer who left office wildly unpopular. Now it's Jeb Bush's turn—he thinks—and he's scratching out plans to revitalize the family brand.
The former Florida governor wants to be known as a 21st-century conservative—a leader who applies right-of-center policies to traditionally Democratic issues: wage stagnation, income inequality, and declining social mobility.
Two weeks ago, President Obama offered a progressive prescription that included raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for tax cuts and programs for low- and middle-class Americans. Bush's retort: Economic recovery under Obama has been "very little and has come very late."
"The American Dream has become a mirage for far too many," Bush said in the first major speech of his unofficial presidential campaign. He called improving economic opportunity "an urgent issue."
As the epicenter of middle-class growth and decline in the 20th century, Detroit is an attractive metaphor for presidential candidates promising revival—even when the politicians, like Bush, carry old or vague ideas into the city and pander to the elite. Bush addressed the well-heeled Detroit Economic Club and toured a hot new manufacturing plant, Shinola, where expensive watches and bikes are marketed as part of Detroit's rebirth narrative.
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