The Bushes, as Distinct and Alike as Brothers Can Be
“Public service seems to be a calling for George Senior and George Junior, whereas for Jeb it is about a mission,” said Clint Bolick, who wrote a book on immigration with Jeb Bush. “It’s about policy and ideas. I never really got the impression that either his dad or his brother were really motivated by ideas and policies. For Jeb, politics is a means to an end rather than an end in itself.”
.. “Jeb is the serious one. We have always thought that he would have a public career.” And the oldest brother? “George? George is the family clown.”
.. Not surprisingly, neither brother is comfortable with comparisons, and they invariably bristle at oversimplifications. (Among the harshest offered by critics is the Wizard of Oz analogy — one has no heart, the other no brain.)
.. When their sister Robin died of leukemia, Jeb was an infant, but George was 7, old enough to understand. He took it upon himself to cheer up their devastated mother, adopting a class-clown demeanor that would define his persona for years.
.. “He really wants Jeb to run, and he’s really excited about it,” said one person close to the family. “I think Jeb is like, ‘I could use your money, but if you just hide, that would be helpful.’ ”