Daniel Politi authored an interesting story that was posted over at Slate this weekend.  The newest up-and-coming star of the Republican party appears to be George Bush.  No, this is not a case of one of the previous incarnations making a come back.  This is a brand new, possibly improved member of the trusty Bush clan.

George Prescott Bush, son of Jeb, grandson of George Herbert Walker, nephew of GW, has filed the necessary paperwork to run for land commissioner in Texas, no doubt a starting point for higher political aspirations.  Bush’s planned arrival on the political scene and, if previous family successes are any indicator, his potential for advancement could not have come at a more opportune time for the Republicans.  According to Politi, “George P. Bush is Hispanic, speaks fluent Spanish, has served in Afghanistan in the U.S. Navy, and has worked at recruiting young voters.”  For a GOP that dismally failed to capture both the Latino and youth votes this year, Bush represents the necessary new direction for a Republican party that needs to get younger and less white in order to stay competitive while national demographics continue to shift.

But how will Republican voters, and the rest of America, react to yet another George Bush angling for political power?  It is certainly not fair to judge George Prescott on the record of his one term grandfather or his uncle, who so embarrassed the GOP that he has been AWOL for the last two election cycles.  But in politics, image can often times be more important than substance.  Perhaps it would be advisable to drop the George and just go by Prescott.  Sure, that is a name for an old, rich, white guy, but that’s a stigma that every Republican has to overcome.

Author’s Note:

This piece was originally posted on my personal blog (shameless self-promotion complete), after which Rich D’Loss was kind enough to remind me that the name Prescott Bush was not without its stigma as well.  At least not to anyone with a sense of history.