JEB! Bush could become the nightmare candidate for GOP donors

(Slate) - Last fall, when Jeb Bush was still mulling a bid for the presidency, Bloomberg Politics reported on what was considered then—and is still considered now—Bush’s greatest advantage as a presidential candidate: His ability to separate wealthy donors from vast sums of money quickly.

“Unlike his competitors,” the thinking went, “Bush could lure donors off the fence in a hurry, without undergoing a hazing trial to test skill and stability.”

That is precisely what happened. Instants after announcing over the winter that he was “seriously considering the possibility of running for president,” Bush and his team set up the Right to Rise PAC and super PAC to serve as cash receptacles for eager GOP establishment donors.

The money rolled in, and by July the super PAC announced that it had met its goal of raising more than $100 million in the first six months of the year.

The popular former governor of Florida, who hadn’t run for office since his 2002 re-election bid, was able to take it to the bank based on his family’s success at winning presidential nominations and his ability to flatter the right crowds at events like the Wall Street JournalCEO Council.

And indeed, he was able to bypass a thorough vetting of his aptitude for a presidential run en route to this fortune.

Whoops.  Read more.