Why was the Bush campaign a disaster?

[Samof94]

Why did Jeb do so poorly in 2016? He had name recognition, a former President and first lady as parents, and had been governor of a large state. 

[WalterWhite]

Why did Jeb do so poorly in 2016? He had name recognition, a former President and first lady as parents, and had been governor of a large state. 

NOBODY wanted another Bush occupying the White House.

[Sumner 1868]

You actually answered your question in your post. After years of talk radio/Fox News/Breitbart disinfotainment conservative media, combined with the long-tern mental reprogramming of reality TV and sociopathic media social media, Jeb's meekness wasn't good enough for their entertainment tastes. They wanted a TV star instead.

It should also be noted he was never a easy sell - losing a media hyped competitive gubernatorial race in 1994 of all years was a very early clue he had no future.

[Samof94]

You actually answered your question in your post. After years of talk radio/Fox News/Breitbart disinfotainment conservative media, combined with the long-tern mental reprogramming of reality TV and sociopathic media social media, Jeb's meekness wasn't good enough for their entertainment tastes. They wanted a TV star instead.

It should also be noted he was never a easy sell - losing a media hyped competitive gubernatorial race in 1994 of all years was a very early clue he had no future.

He got the job in Florida later on.

[Stranger in a strange land]

You actually answered your question in your post. After years of talk radio/Fox News/Breitbart disinfotainment conservative media, combined with the long-tern mental reprogramming of reality TV and sociopathic media social media, Jeb's meekness wasn't good enough for their entertainment tastes. They wanted a TV star instead.

It should also be noted he was never a easy sell - losing a media hyped competitive gubernatorial race in 1994 of all years was a very early clue he had no future.

He got the job in Florida later on.

I read somewhere that Poppy Bush's plan was to have Jeb & Dubya both win in 1994, then have Jeb (who everyone always believed was the "smarter" Bush brother up until 2016 LOLOLOL) run in 2000, and then Dubya in 2008, but this plan fell apart when Jeb lost in 1994.

[Sir Mohamed]

His entire campaign approach was like it was 2000 or 2004 and not 2016. Neither did he offer anything new and just a return to the same old establishment that failed in the first place.

[darklordoftech]

1. His platform was “my brother did nothing wrong” when that clearly wasn’t true.

2. He’s a Bush, so he was tainted by his brother’s failures.

3. He’s “low energy”.

[Redban]

No appetite for another Bush in the White House, and he got mauled by Trump

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

Jeb not having been in a campaign since 2002 probably didn't help...continuing the tradition of the 2012 candidates not having been in a recent campaign.