Just last week, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm wrote an interesting piece offering words of encouragement to Mitt Romney supporters who were disappointed he isn’t running again. As Granholm put it, “Even though Romney may technically be out of the race, he’s not really out. Why? Because Jeb Bush is in, and the two are basically the same.”
To be sure, the similarities aren’t precise. Bush, for example, won more than one election. But they’re both sons of successful politicians; they’re both former governors; they both have a private-equity background; and they both have a fair amount of experience with off-shore tax havens.
Today, there are some additional parallels to remember.
With his top early rival Mitt Romney out of the picture, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush planned to take the stage [in Detroit] Tuesday to deliver one of his first major speeches since announcing in December that he may run for president.Bush planned to address the slow pace of economic recovery in his remarks to the Detroit Economic Club, according to excerpts provided by his Right to Rise PAC. He blames Washington politicians for not understanding the needs of millions around the country still looking for work.
In the last election, when Romney first laid out his economic vision, he also spoke in Detroit — it really didn’t go well — which only serves to remind us of something else the two have in common: both opposed President Obama’s successful rescue of the American auto industry, which is of particular interest in Detroit.
From a 2012 report about Bush as a possible Romney running mate:
*Bush said that until the hearing, he hadn’t been asked his opinion on the automotive bailout or the bank bailouts. He told the committee he didn’t support the auto bailout — what he describes as “a form of capitalism where the government intervenes in a very muscular kind of way.” The position puts him in line with Romney.
A couple of months ago, Bloomberg Politics ran a report with a memorable headline: “Jeb Bush Has a Mitt Romney Problem.” Josh Green noted, among other things, “As a budding private equity mogul, [Jeb Bush has] begun to resemble a Mini-Mitt.”
It’s a dynamic to keep in mind as the race continues to unfold.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."