Bill Clinton Warned Jeb Is ‘Real Threat,’ Christie Not So Much

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former President Bill Clinton warned former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that if she does decide to run for president in 2016, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would be a real threat among potential 2016 Republican primary candidates while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) would be more of a flash in the pan.

That’s according to an extensive piece in Politico published Monday about the former secretary’s possible presidential campaign. Former President Clinton, according to the Politico piece, got a “heads-up” from people in former President George H. W. Bush’s world just a few days after the former Gov. Bush announced that he would “actively explore” running for president. In the words of Politico, former President Clinton saw Bush as a “real threat” while Christie as more of a “sideshow.”

Early polling of the Republican primary field has shown Bush leading a host of other candidates.

Despite the politcal rivalry, the Bush family and the Clinton family are actually somewhat close. Former President Clinton has repeatedly visited Former President H.W. Bush in Maine every summer and former Gov. Bush once presented former Secretary Clinton with an award. Former President George W. Bush has also referred to former President Clinton as his “brother from another mother.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for bdtex bdtex says:

    Is he baiting Republicans?

  2. Bush is leading because he’s the only candidate they can advance with a straight face. He has ZERO chance at winning a general election. I agree about Christie and the ‘flash in the pan’ thing but I differ from President Clinton in that I think that flash was long ago. He’s not a serious candidate.

    I’ll bet the GOP thing boils down to a Romney / Bush fight similar to the Obama / Clinton one. The two GOP’ers appeal to different segments of that party so it will get ugly. Won’t matter much. Neither of them can win a nationwide election.

  3. Honestly, they ought to have Bill Clinton take a back seat to his wife’s campaign when it comes to strategy. He really has no finesse in managing her and can, as he’s done in the past, insert foot. Just by mentioning ‘The Man with No Last Name’ ™, he just elevated the asshole unnecessarily in my humble opinion.

    Great President, Bad Campaign Manager.

  4. Avatar for fess fess says:

    I can’t see Bush getting anywhere near a GOP nod because of his stance on immigration. It’s such a foaming at the mouth issue for so many RWNJs that it seems he would lack a sufficient base to get past the primaries. If he did somehow get past the primaries, he would do much better with a pool of DINOs who don’t get all worked up about those cataloupe-calved, ebola carrying Others.

  5. I never thought RMoney could get as far as he did in the primaries, seriously. I thought the boneheads in the GOTP would never put him up as their candidate. So stranger things have happened.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

13 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for bdtex Avatar for bev_didier Avatar for webcelt Avatar for fess Avatar for richardinjax Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for braxtonbraggart Avatar for ryp Avatar for grindelwald Avatar for cwazycajun Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for cincypix

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: