Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

The Jebness of Jeb

Normally I’d run a guest column here, it being Thursday. I just gotta say that the debate last night reminded me of when I was in college.

BOULDER, CO - OCTOBER 28:  Presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks during the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at University of Colorados Coors Events Center October 28, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado.  Fourteen Republican presidential candidates are participating in the third set of Republican presidential debates.  (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
BOULDER, CO - OCTOBER 28: Presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks during the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at University of Colorados Coors Events Center October 28, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. Fourteen Republican presidential candidates are participating in the third set of Republican presidential debates. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
BOULDER, CO - OCTOBER 28: Presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks during the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at University of Colorados Coors Events Center October 28, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. Fourteen Republican presidential candidates are participating in the third set of Republican presidential debates. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Normally I’d run a guest column here, it being Thursday. I just gotta say that the debate last night reminded me of when I was in college. In the first year, the prep kids arrived smoothed and styled. They knew how to turn out a pretty glib essay. And on the liberal arts side, you aren’t anywhere in the Ivies without you know how to write.

Normally I’d run a guest column here, it being Thursday. I just gotta say that the debate last night reminded me of when I was in college. In the first year, the prep kids arrived smoothed and styled. They knew how to turn out a pretty glib essay. And on the liberal arts side, you aren’t anywhere in the Ivies without you know how to write.

But by junior year, the public school kids began to slam dunk the prepsters. The smart kids had learned really writing, while the old shuck-and-jive high-end polish had stopped working for the preps.

I remember walking into lunch one day and seeing a blonde kid weeping at the lunch table. I knew him vaguely — I knew his face but didn’t know his name.

“You OK?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “You’re here because you belong here. I’m here because my father owns an NFL team.”

I thought of that when Jeb floundered around in last night’s debate.

My guess is that this election will be Clinton vs. Rubio. Clinton will win 49 to 47. (Presuming that this year’s crazy primaries will result in some independent running.)

Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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