Will GOP support another Bush?

In January 2008, at a John McCain rally in Columbia, S.C., I asked a number of local politicos to look back to the brutal 2000 Republican primary in their state, the one between McCain and George W. Bush. They had all supported Bush back then, and I asked whether, given the inconclusive wars, runaway federal spending and economic catastrophe of the next eight years, they felt they made the right choice.

The answer was yes. They explained that they had strongly supported Ronald Reagan, and then they supported George H.W. Bush because they had supported Reagan, and then supported George W. Bush because they had supported George H.W. Bush. It was just a natural progression.

Now, after decisive presidential defeats in 2008 and 2012, there is another Bush to consider as party insiders buzz about the possibility of a Jeb Bush candidacy. But the question, in South Carolina and elsewhere, is whether the enormous legacy advantage that George W. Bush enjoyed will still be there.