2016 Clown Car Update: Jeb Bush Finally Jumps In

The worst kept secret of the season is finally open, Jeb! Bush is running for president. Squeezing into the already packed-to-the-gills GOP Clown Car is going to take a jumbo-sized shoe horn, but Jeb! (yes, Jeb!) is determined to do it, and many consider him to be "the guy," the inevitable sane choice.

But let's not forget, he would be the third Bush in the White House of the last five presidents. That each of the last three Republican presidents would all share a gene pool. And the first two are not particularly revered. In fact, H.W. was seen as at best mediocre, and W. was seen by most as a disaster. My hope for Jeb! was that he'd go with the slogan, "3rd Time's the Charm!" and in fact, that was the logo I came up with for him. But he went with "Jeb! 2016," which looks tremendously silly, but I'll tell you why.

I'm not a paid political pundit, only a hobbyist blogger. But I am a graphic artist, one who specializes in logos and brand identity. And I'll tell you this, "Jeb!" was their solution to not having signs that said "Bush." Period. They were lucky that we have "Hillary" (or simply "H"), we have "Bernie" and we have "Rand." All of those campaigns are going first-name familiar. So, since "Jeb" is a nick name (his name is literally "John Ellis Bush Bush," remember), and is short, the apostrophe gives it some weight. I'm sure they also see it as drama, but I see it as levity. . .goofiness. I'm not sure that's what they were going for.

[Excerpt]

Jeb Bush poised to launch 2016 bid

Jeb Bush, a scion of the most recognizable family in Republican politics who fashioned an image as a sober-minded conservative truth-teller while governor of Florida, is poised to run for president.

Bush will make his formal announcement Monday afternoon here in his adopted hometown during an appearance at Miami Dade College. His candidacy comes after a weeklong European tour and months of intensive behind-the-scenes political maneuvering that erased long-standing doubts about his White House ambitions. . .

Read more at: WTAE