Jeb Bush: "I know I can get better each and every day"
"I know I can get better each and every day," Jeb Bush pledged, as he stood in front of the World War II Sherman tank at his town hall meeting. "I strive each and every day, I pray each and every day to get better as a husband, as a father, as a leader. I know I can get better, and I believe that this country is going to get better," Bush declared Wednesday evening.
This was his fifth stop of the day on his most arduous swing through New Hampshire yet -- all part of an effort to pivot from his disappointing debate performance last week.
Earlier, Bush offered reporters turkey jerky before his new campaign bus took off on the occasionally bumpy path between Manchester and Hollis, New Hampshire. Sitting at the very back of the bus with reporters assembled around him, he answered a range of questions with a mix of humor, sarcasm, and seriousness.
"Marco's a gifted politician. He's earned his position. I've been a big fan and a supporter, but you don't get to be a United States Senator without doing it, you know, being responsible for his success," Bush said, praising his former mentee and now-rival Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida.
But the former Florida governor dinged Rubio, who was also in New Hampshire Wednesday, for his lack of legislative accomplishments. "Yeah, I mean one bill - that turned that - he sponsored turned into a law. It's just the nature of the process. Gridlock exists," he said, adding, "There are people that do things, not a lot of them," and he cited Republican Senator John McCain as an example.
"Look I have enough self-awareness to know that I'm in the middle of the pack," Bush told reporters. "But I know how to get to where I need to be, and worrying about the here and now is just completely irrelevant."
He tried to project serenity -- that his standing in the polls was of little concern -- while emphasizing that he was self-aware enough to realize that he had to improve his debate performance. "What's on my mind right now is the debate," he declared, and he said he intended to "be better as a performer on the debate stage."
The Floridian told reporters he was actually doing "less debate prep" than he had for the previous three debates, and he planned to try more "being me" for next week's Fox Business debate. He explained, "It's not a debate. It's a chance to be able to say what you think, and I'm going to take advantage of that," critiquing debate formats made up of 30-second answers and rebuttals.
"I do pretty good when I'm out with real people, interacting with them, have fun doing it, but the debate process is different," he said. It's a matter, he added, of taking his comfortable interactions on the trail, and "translat[ing] that into a debate experience."
New Hampshire voters at his events Wednesday seemed to agree with his assessment. "I think he was thoughtful, I thought he was substantive, and I'm quite impressed with him," said Patrick Moquin of Hollis, NH after hearing Bush speak in person.
Does Bush come across differently on TV than in person? "No question," Moquin replied. "First of all, I've watched every Republican debate. It's nearly impossible for anyone to get an opportunity to get a strong substantive point across when you have ten people on stage."
Without prompting, he added, "I don't know who gave him the advice to say what he said to Rubio, but I think it was bad advice, and that's not his style from what I can tell. He's much better at addressing issues."
Moquin, an independent, says Bush is among the top several candidates he is considering.
Harry from Nashua, who declined to provide his last name, thought that Bush's demeanor was largely the same in person and on TV. "He's a mild person to start with, by yelling you don't get any where," he said.
Cathy Chevalier of Hudson, New Hampshire, agreed that Bush felt the same on TV as in person. She described herself as "not all that impressed" with Bush in the past, but she also said she was glad to hear what he said "especially about the prescription monitoring program."
A few hours later, after Bush's Wolfeboro town hall, retired college professor Jim O'Rourke and his wife Carol exclaimed that Bush was "much different in person and very sincere," compared to what they had seen watching the debates. Jim was impressed by Bush's ease in discussing policy, in contrast with "the other candidates," who speak "in vague and general terms."
Bush won over the O'Rourkes. Jim O'Rourke said, "Marco Rubio is extremely eloquent. And we like Marco Rubio a lot, he was our top choice I think until tonight. I can't say anything against Rubio, he's very eloquent speaker but I don't think has the knowledge how to solve our problems."
On Thursday, Bush concludes his two and a half day swing through New Hampshire with a morning town hall in North Conway and a small business tour in Somersworth, NH.