Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had a bad week last week, according to the Washington Press corps. They saw Bush installing Republican operative Danny Diaz as his campaign manager as a sign that Bush is struggling. Actually, Diaz is a great pick and a sign that Bush is about to formally announce his presidential bid. But the reality is that Jeb Bush has made a number of miscalculations as he heads to a formal announcement this week.
First, he presumed his entry would keep others out. It may have kept out Romney v.5.0, but that was all. Bush team members were rather public that they hoped his early announcement would keep Rubio out. It did not.
When Rubio got in, they presumed they could lock down Florida donors. They did not. They then presumed they could snag the national mega-donors. They could not.
In fact, three of the mega-donors, in separate conversations with me, tell me that Jeb hit them in the same sweet spot Romney did and, given Romney's campaign, they are less likely to support Jeb because they feel as comfortable with him as they did Romney. Romney's shadow hurts Jeb.