Jeb Bush's campaign kickoff event yesterday was a reminder that no one should dismiss his potential to win the GOP presidential nomination -- it was enthusiastic, diverse, and perhaps the best-executed announcement to date in either party. But Jeb's biggest challenge from now until the first Republican contests is convincing his party that he could win a straight "Clinton-vs.-Bush" contest. Right now, the polling doesn't bear that out: Recent surveys (like CNN's and Quinnipiac's) show other Republicans performing better head-to-head against Hillary than Jeb does. The perception among some conservative opinion leaders doesn't bear it out, either. "In a general election, nominating Bush would neutralize one of Hillary Clinton's biggest liabilities (the idea that she, too, is a figure from the past trying to ride her last name to power)," the Washington Examiner's Philip Klein wrote earlier this year. And then there's the record comparing the Clinton years vs. the Bush ones (both under 41 and 43). "There is not a reason in the world why we cannot grow at a rate of 4% a year," Jeb said yesterday -- when it turns out that it DID grow at 4% a year during Bill Clinton's presidency, but not during his brother's. A skeptical base will forgive when they perceive you as the most electable candidate (see McCain in 2008 and Romney in 2012). But right now, Jeb doesn't look like the most electable against Clinton Read more http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/jebs-electability-challenge-n376251
