Jeb Bush is in rebellion against his own candidacy to win the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He has seemingly been operating that way almost from the beginning. It's a quiet rebellion that’s been building while his public image has been sustained by an infusion of donor money, and most importantly the Bush family. Politics may be in Jeb Bush’s blood but it's been hidden during this campaign, and at this point he's losing the race.

The 2016 Republican campaign has, to this point, been mainly about impressions. It takes people nanoseconds to form an impression about someone, and that impression remains in our minds for a long time unless something happens to make it change. It’s becoming apparent that Jeb is not going to change. The impression he is leaving us with is one of weakness.

It begins at the beginning. If a candidate wants to win, picking up on the pulse of the electorate is critical. Voters want to like the candidate they support, and feel confident that he or she is up to the job. The good old Reagan likability factor. It's gotten very hard for Jeb Bush to score likability points dressing in boxy suits and rimless glasses that don’t look “today.” He doesn’t sound “today” in speeches or at the debates, and his interest in the job he supposedly wants seems forced. No matter how many people have been rooting for Jeb Bush to succeed, he now appears to lack one of the most critical success factors of all - the passionate desire to win.  

The Bush family is sacrosanct to millions of people. They are a political dynasty that has produced two presidents with a strong family matriarch behind the scenes. Perhaps they have pushed the youngest son too hard to enter the family business. There's a certain part of him that seems to say, "I'd take the job if it was handed to me on my terms." But Jeb Bush should know better than most that the presidency is one job that can't be handed to anyone. You have to work really hard to earn it.