Trump or Bush

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Jeb would probably be a decent president. I just think he's an exceptionally bad campaigner.

At some point in time, the GOP is going to need to make the shift on immigration and marriage equality. Of all the GOP candidates, I think Jeb is the only one who really understands this and would maybe be willing to play ball if he made it to a second term. And I think for the GOP to start seriously shifting on these issues, it needs to come from a president, as the office does command serious legitimacy. I highly doubt Jeb has the campaign skills to land himself in this position... but if he did, and managed in his tenure as president to implement centre-right fiscal policies, he really could make progress for Republicans in the arena of social issues. Maybe I'm too optimistic.

I also think a second-term President Romney would find himself in a similar position. Had he won in 2012, by 2019 we'd have a Republican president who supported SSM. I think so, anyway. And it's important.




Mind you, Trump probably already supports SSM, but he's only interested in the theatrics of the presidency so probably wouldn't be willing to put himself on the line as any kind of advocate (to the extent that a supportive GOP president ever could be one).