Civic Engagement

Many would say the reason you should rally behind and vote for Jeb Bush in the 2016 presidential election, is simply for his prominent last name. Although that name can have a lot weight in the political realm, I think individuals should rally behind Jeb for any other reason than his last name. I am not going to say that Jeb Bush is going to be the best choice when 2016 comes, but if you are trying to find some positive points to vote for Jeb, here are a few.

1. Family

Jeb’s immediate family dynamic (so excluding his father and brother) is one good reason to join in his support. First off his wife has strong relations to the Hispanic population. Not many potential candidates have such a close connection to another major community that could aid not only in more votes, but also a better understanding of other cultures, especially when in the role of President of the United States. Although almost every political family has their fair share of scandals and problems, just as Jeb’s has, compared to most though his family has had a lot less. Which shows not only that he individually is dedicated to 2016, but so is his family.

    2. Experience

Not many are able to say that they governed one of the biggest swing states for two full terms and on top of that, did it for the most part successfully. That alone shows how much experience and hands on time he has gotten to build upon his skills as a potentially powerful leader. During his time as governor, Jeb helped Florida add more than a million jobs and also contributed to the economic growth in Florida, which obviously played a part in the United States as a whole at the time. His experience, but also the positive outcomes he had between 1998 and 2007 is just one small part of what he would be capable of if he were successful in 2016.

    3. Dedication to Issues

One aspect that at times gets lost during political campaigns and elections, is actually how one candidate views each issue. I can admit a downfall to Jeb is that he hasn’t fully leaned to a particular side regarding certain issues, such as immigration reform. Despite that pitfall though, he has showed how dedicated he is to the issues even if his plans are not perfect. Referring back to his time as governor, he attempted various ideas to improve the education of Florida even though most ended in failure. That motivation and hard work is what I believe and hope one wants to rally behind in 2016.

When looking forward to next year one has to keep in mind that no candidate is flawless. At this point Jeb Bush has a fair chance at the Republican nomination, but as we have learned that can easily change over night. Whether or not Jeb Bush will be your first choice in 2016 though, in my personal opinion he has an undeniable combination of a better understanding of the role of President than most, a track record that speaks for itself, and finally the confidence to rule the United States of America.

http://shark-tank.com/2014/10/03/jeb-bush-running-president-pros-cons/

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/03/05/jeb-bush-record-florida-governor/24473497/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/jeb-bushs-pros-and-cons_b_6330710.html

Press Coverage

The idea of press coverage is an important factor to consider when one wants to learn more about a potential presidential candidate. After conducting a Google search on Jeb Bush, a majority of the stories in recent news were based around the idea of Jeb running in 2016. Ones were written about what Jeb thinks about Obama’s presidency, while others were more concerned about the Bush dynasty, and whether or not Jeb will be the GOP front-runner in 2016. The types of media outlets that are covering Jeb of late include for the majority CNN, ABC News, and various other ones.

            From what I saw on Google and various media outlets, I believe that Jeb and his people are generating the majority of the news.  I believe this because almost all of the recent news about him had a positive light around him or related to him running in 2016. For example in a recent story by ABC News, entitled “Not Just ‘W’s Brother’: How Jeb Bush Is Dealing With His Dynasty Problem”, showed that he does have problems, but he is handling them so he can be successful in 2016. Although that specific article was not all positive thoughts on Jeb, it still leads me to believe that Jeb and his people have a hand in generating the news to benefit himself as a candidate in 2016. 

ABC News article ----à http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ws-brother-jeb-bush-dealing-dynasty-problem/story?id=30484616

            “Jeb Bush is a big fan of NSA surveillance” by CNN also led me to believe that Jeb and his people help generate the news for him. Within the article it talks about how the one idea that Jeb agrees with in Obama’s presidency is his role in the NSA’s program. I believe this was strategically put together by Jeb and his people because it shows he respects Obama to an extent, but at the same time there is also still things Jeb would change if elected in 2016. Then combining both of those factors, of respect and change, leads to a successful image of Jeb as a candidate in 2016. Overall it is usually wiser for Jeb and his people to help generate the news versus just the media because Jeb and his people can control what is conveyed to the readers, so that in the end it will ultimately be beneficial for Jeb. 

CNN article ----à http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/politics/jeb-bush-nsa-surveillance-metadata-program/

            I think overall what the media is writing is working for and also against Jeb when considering a possible 2016 presidential campaign. I say that because it depends whether Jeb and his people are generating the news or just the media independently are producing the news. As of right now, when moving into the 2016 election season I believe Jeb should really focus on press coverage concerning issues and showing how independent he is, despite his family political dynasty. Some media outlets, such as ABC News, have tried to push Jeb into comparing his policies with his brother’s, so really gaining coverage of his own individual stances on issues would be wise when going into the 2016 election season.

Media Bias

There are particular media outlets that are either consider “liberal” or “conservative” within political communication. Many have different opinions on what each media outlet is considered, just like within this case of finding media stories given about Jeb Bush, which is where I believe MSNBC is “liberal” and FOX News is more leaning towards the “conservative” side. Although each of the stories I choose are different, you can clearly see how each media outlet portrays Jeb Bush differently because of their biases.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jeb-bush-says-he-wont-disparage-likely-rival-marco-rubio

“Jeb Bush says he won’t ‘disparage’ likely rival Marco Rubio” was the media story I found within MSNBC, or what I consider one of the “liberal” outlets. Within this story Jeb is portrayed as very sportsman-like to other candidates, but also weak and incompetent because he seems like he can’t fight back and also does not have the ability to answer major issues going on, which was elaborated on at the end of the story. The research I have done thus far, the fact that Jeb may avoid an issue such as immigration, may be accurate, but he is not afraid to address other issues, as we have seen in his time as governor of Florida. It was generous of MSNBC to give Jeb the benefit of the doubt in thinking that he will not disparage other candidates, but also unfair to imply ideas that he is weak or incompetent.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/04/13/five-reasons-why-florida-matters-lot-in-2016/

The story I found on FOX News, or what I consider a “conservative” outlet was, “Five reasons why Florida matter (a lot) in 2016”. Jeb is portrayed as this more than competent and well-rounded individual within this story. Since I consider FOX “conservative”, it makes sense that they would be overly generous, or bias, towards him through this media story. It seems accurate that Florida is diverse ethnically, popular for international trade and foreign policy, and was a feat for Jeb to be apart of during his terms as governor, based on what I have researched thus far. It is more than generous when it explicitly states that Jeb successfully governed Florida during the full eight years, because not everything he did had a great reaction from some Floridians. It is unfair that this story though only highlights what he has been successful at, especially including Florida, and unfairly hides Jeb’s stances on issues that differ from other conservatives.

If one were only to see that MSNBC story, then they would only know about faults Jeb has and his successes would be concealed to those readers. On the other hand one would only see the good aspects of Jeb Bush and no nothing about his failures, after reading the FOX News media story. Although most people only identify with conservative or liberal, and sometimes neither, I believe it is still important to strategically and wisely read media stories from various outlets, so one can avoid media biases and have all the facts when making a major decision in 2016.

Media, Pop Culture and Politics

Finding an artifact that describes Jeb Bush was not too difficult to find, considering that he has been really well known since his time as the governor of Florida. The artifact I found was an online opinion column within USA Today. This column was specifically reviewing Bush’s time as governor and how it is all going to play into him potentially running in 2016. This column really believed that Jeb Bush is seen as moderate, but his time as governor says that he is actually much more conservative.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/02/01/jeb-bush-conservative-credentials-moderate-gop-candidate-governor-column/22702215/

Throughout this column, it shows some of Jeb’s good and bad aspects in his time as governor. Specifically it explains how he was successful in being able to pass an agenda with various policies concerning Floridians. It also explained how Bush put limits on abortions, which ensures that he is pro-life. During his term as governor Florida was known as one of the nation’s most pro-gun states, which pushes the opinion of how he is more conservative than he seems. Another aspect included in this opinion column, was Jeb’s educational plan that he put in place during his two terms in Florida. It goes on to explain how this plan for schools upset many families, but it on the other side it also allowed for options for the parents. Although this column to a certain extent criticized Jeb Bush’s actions as governor, many states have still used his policies in their own states. Most of the judgments about Jeb’s policies have for the majority came from Democrats and more specifically teacher’s unions because of the changes he made with his educational plan.

This column describes Jeb Bush as effective in the actions he has taken, very conservative, but maybe not strong enough to win over voters in 2016. After reading this column, I think it helps shape the image the candidate is trying to project for the most part. Going back to the second blog post about Jeb’s image, then and now I still believe that he needs to create an independent image and also show that he can be successful in the political world without his family members, which is what this column proved. The USA Today column really focused on what he had done individually and didn’t focused on his family ties, which all helped shape the image Jeb Bush would possibly want to portray for 2016. Granted there are certain aspects that are pushing back against his desired image, such as how he is actually more conservative than seen publicly and also how his actions as governor had some negative reactions at certain times. We have to keep in mind though that no candidate is perfect, especially with varying opinions.

Advertising Strategies

Within the political realm, advertisements are used for various amounts of ideas. Some candidates use ads to build up the positive image of themselves and also to attack a candidate’s opponent. I believe that both ways can be proven affective in differing situations. When going to research advertisements of Jeb Bush throughout his political career, I was surprised by my results. I was only able to find one direct advertisements of him, and just a couple of examples where he was apart of another political advertisement.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4519922/jeb-bush-governor-1998-ad 

The advertisement that was put out during his running for governor in 1998 I most definitely see as a complete candidate-positive ad. The way he talked about who he is, what he has done thus far, and what he wanted to do if became governor, all really displayed it as a positive advertisement for his campaign. Another strategy at play in this specific ad was the idea of building his image through it, which also goes back to the candidate-positive type of ad. At that point in his career he needed to build his image more than ever because not a lot of people knew him just for himself, instead of being the son or brother to a major political figures. The point that he made in the ad about things needing to change could be considered as a slight challenger strategy, but overall I think he was more trying to focus on whom he is and what he had to offer.

I generally view this ad as a simple and for the most part direct advertisement, which is why I saw no gender strategies at play in it. I believe Jeb Bush chose to do a candidate-positive and image advertisement at that point time because he really needed to create awareness to the voters on who he is individually. Then after forming that basis he would have a greater and more successful chance at doing more complex ads in the future, if needed. I also think Jeb stayed away from the gender strategies and/or differences because at that time it was one of his first major political elections, and he probably did not want to leave a bad first impression on the voters. Overall I feel like this ad was decent one for its time, but if shown today it would need some improvement.

http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2014/10/06/jeb-bush-spanish-cory-gardner-chamber/

Although the second advertisement I found did not evolve around Jeb Bush, it did however shed light on how he is seen and who he is. The first major and obvious aspect to take into account was that he was speaking in Spanish within this ad. Jeb was able to help create the candidate-positive and image ad strategy for Cory Gardner. Focusing specifically on Jeb’s role in the ad though, I believe it shows he can easily relate to the Latino voter population, which we may see in his own future ads for the 2016 election. As a whole, advertisements play a crucial role within any political campaign, and more importantly so do the strategies behind them.