Anyways, if Jeb Bush had a different name, he'd be up there with Christie as a candidate.
He's only a candidate because of his name.
What? He's the most popular living former Florida Governor and is still seen within the state as the Republican party's intellectual leader. Elsewhere his reputation may be based on his name, but in his home state he's got a lot of goodwill left over, especially among state Republicans. Being popular and experienced in the largest swing state would put anyone on the map as a top candidate.
He's only a former governor of Florida because of his name.
My point is that you can't say "oh, if Jeb wasn't a Bush then he'd be a great candidate" when his entire career was possible based off of him being a president's son. So is his future fundraising capabilities.
When Jeb first ran for Governor in 1994, he was a respected businessman, even if he was helped at every step along the way by his famous father's connections.
Big difference: The entire country knows who George W Bush is and have already formed an opinion of him. Only New Yorkers and those who follow politics know who Mario Cuomo is.
The point isn't about how Jeb or Andrew Cuomo started their careers and got elected. It's that one of these candidates is able to define his image, and the other can't. If Jeb runs, his brother's presidency is going to follow him the entire way, and there's just no positive spin to it. Yes, it's not fair to Jeb, but it's just preposterous to believe that Jeb can shake his brother off of his candidacy.
