DES MOINES, Iowa—Jeb Bush has a plan for the Republican presidential debate in Wisconsin on Tuesday night: Don’t treat it like, well, a debate.
While he acknowledges he’s “gotta get better” on the debate stage, he says he’s spending less time rehearsing and sees the prime-time forum as more of a moderated conversation than a real debate.
The once-presumed front-runner, now struggling in the race, remains conflicted about the purpose of the debate series but says he’s taking advice while trying to stay true to his serious self.
“Whatever you call it, it’s not a debate,” Bush told reporters in New Hampshire recently. “It’s a chance to be able to say what you think. And I’m going to take advantage of that.”
Bush is looking to recover during the debate in Milwaukee from what he, supporters and donors agree was a poor performance in Boulder, Colorado, on Oct. 28, when he hoped to break out with a show of aggressiveness but ended up looking awkward in a tangle with a nimbler rival, Marco Rubio.
After Bush made sharp campaign spending cuts, his allies had been closely watching the Colorado debate for signs that the former Florida governor was ready to make his mark after having little to show in the early voting states after four months of campaigning.
Instead, they saw Bush take an early and obviously rehearsed swipe at the well-prepared Rubio about his Senate voting record, then fade from view for much of the remaining debate.
Bush and aides quickly huddled by phone with donors and supporters afterward to try to ease nerves. Three days later, Bush stood in a crowd of Iowa supporters and told nearby reporters, “I have enough humility to know I’ve got to get better.”
