Jeb Bush talked to Fox News’s Sean Hannity in New Hampshire last night, and the two ended up playing a word-association game with the names of his opponents. Bush showcased his campaigning skills by revealing little of what he thinks about the Republican primary field. Some of his summations weren’t even opinions, but incontrovertible facts. (“Libertarian.” “A real Texan.” “Rich guy.”)
Others simply weren’t very creative or just too predictable — Marco Rubio (“Good friend”), Carly Fiorina ("Really talented”), Ted Cruz ("Very smart. Fiery”), John Kasich ("Smart guy, too”), and Scott Walker ("Fighter”). The only slightly insightful adjectives he offered were for Hillary Clinton, whom he called “smart” and “tough” in a different part of the interview.
Since this question will probably come up in some form during a debate (Newt Gingrich is the reigning champ, having described himself as “cheerful“), Bush should workshop some less boring answers for next time and tell us how he really feels. “The worst,” “oh God, there’s another one,” and “ugh” would all be acceptable.
