In case you missed it, the race-hatred massacre in Charleston has left Jeb Bush clueless. He's not sure if race is actually a factor in this horrific episode of domestic terrorism.
Every major news outlet in the country -- well, maybe not Fox? -- reported that a survivor recounted the killer "had said that African-Americans have 'raped our [white] women, and you are taking over the country."
Could it be any clearer that this is a hate crime directed at African-Americans in a historically important Black church? But when asked point blank if the crime was motivated by race, Jeb said, "I don't know." Despite the mountain of evidence that's already there, he doesn't know.
There's a hell of a lot Bush doesn't know. Back in February at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs luncheon he was asked about NATO's stance in the Baltic region. He said, "I don't know what the effect has been, because, you know, it's really kind of hard to be out on the road, and I'm just a gladiator these days, so I don't follow every little detail."
Asked about failed states in the Middle East, he came out with this gem: "I don't have a solution. I mean, I -- I -- I've read articles, you know, about whether the 1915 kind of breakout of the Middle East and how that no longer is a viable deal."
He admitted he was no foreign policy expert, in a bizarre way: "Look, the more I get into this stuff, there are some things [where] you just go, you know, 'Holy schnikes.' "
He's clearly not ready for prime time and is a lousy decision maker, too. Why did he show off his ignorance of foreign affairs at that foreign affairs luncheon? Unless he thought his Bush name absolved him of having to do research or prepare with consultants. Which means he's got as scary a sense of entitlement as his brother did.
But he continues to display his ignorance (or vacillation or unpreparedness) pretty much everywhere he goes. And this Bush is supposed to be the smarter brother. Well, I guess the bar is pretty low in that family.
Lev Raphael is the author of 25 books in many genres which you can find on Amazon.