How soon we stop caring

Speculation has run rampant in the past year as to whether Jeb Bush would ever make a formal endorsement in the Senate campaign. Today he did so, and I wonder if anyone still cares? Bush, still the standard bearer for the Republican Party in Florida, threw his name behind Marco Rubio in what has become an uncontested Republican primary.

Via the St. Pete Times:

"Washington is broken, and Marco Rubio is the only candidate in this race that I trust to fix it," said Bush.

Well, the only one who won't bolt parties any second the political wind shifts.

To tell the truth, I'm a little surprised Bush didn't do this a bit sooner. His sons came out for Rubio months ago, and there has long been suspicion the last governor was giving tips to the conservative upstart. Maybe Jeb didn't want to publicly undermine a sitting Republican governor. But frankly, Charlie Crist is still governor, and still a Republican.

So what effect will this have? As influential as Bush is, I doubt it will have any. Sure, Bush will probably be standing behind Rubio at a number of televised rallies, but by Novemeber, he would have been behind the nominee regardless. Doing this after Crist announces his independent run takes out the influence he might have had with Republican voters still on the fence about who to support. At this point, anyone toying with the idea of sticking with Crist won't be moved by the decision of Jeb Bush to back the only serious contender still seeking the Republican nomination.