Rally in South Carolina sees a self-deprecating former president cracking jokes, but also attacking those who ‘inflame’ anger and frustration

Seven years ago, George W Bush left office as one of the most disliked presidents in US history. On Monday night, in a packed convention hall in front of a giant American flag, he returned to the campaign trail for the first time in support of his flagging younger brother Jeb.

For outside observers, having in your corner the president who remains synonymous with “dumb wars” may seem like the kind of support a White House hopeful could do without.



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Yet George W Bush remains one of the most popular Republicans in the staunch conservative state of South Carolina. And last night he showed why, bounding on stage and turning on that old folksy charm which somehow bypassed the stolid, workmanlike Jeb.



The two Bush brothers appeared accompanied by Laura Bush and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham to loud applause and even louder country music. They took their seats as Graham hailed George W Bush a “decent and honorable man” and proclaimed: “This is Bush country, Mr president”.



Bush gave a folksy introduction where he recalled a protestor dumping manure in the parking lot when he was having breakfast at Tommy’s Country Ham House in Greenville, South Carolina 16 years ago. He drew laughs when he said “even a steaming pile of manure can’t ruin their good bacon”.



But the former president soon segued from jokes to a heartfelt stump speech. “If being president of the United States makes me part of the establishment, well I proudly carry that label,” he proclaimed. Bush then went on to cite “something my good dad told me: ‘labels are for soup cans’”.



He praised his brother as having “the experience and character to be president” and pointedly noted the former Florida governor’s humility, a strong contrast to several other candidates, he said, who went unnamed.



When Bush started reminiscing about what he missed from being president, telling the crowd “we miss our friends but we don’t miss power and fame”, a cry came up from the crowd “We miss you!”



The avuncular older brother got serious, though, disparaging the politics of fear and anger which has marked the Republican campaign. “We don’t need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration. We need someone who can fix the problems that cause our anger and frustration and that’s Jeb Bush.”



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When the candidate finally took the stage, some of his older brother’s charm seemed to have transferred to him as Jeb gave a “high-energy” version of his stump speech. He took indirect shots at Marco Rubio, and referred to Donald Trump only as “the front-running candidate” as he appealed for voters to support him in Saturday’s crucial primary.

However, Jeb Bush mostly struck to his own version of an optimistic message, vowing, if elected, “nothing will stop us, we are extraordinary and exceptional ... we just have to fix a few big complex things”.



The hall in North Charleston was jammed with thousands of people eager to see an ex-president in the flesh. Karen Moore of Johns Island, South Carolina, proclaimed that US president number 43 was “her crush”. Attending the event with her husband Louis, she said she had long viewed the Bush family name as an endorsement of morality, having strongly supported both George HW and George W Bush’s campaign.



She dismissed those who criticized Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. “People are too quick to judge” she said. “We don’t have the same information available to us that he had.”



Those Republicans with more muted feelings about George W Bush, like Al Erickson of Harleyville, South Carolina, merely thought he was a good president, not a great one. Erickson, a transplant from New York who moved south five years ago, was a party line Republican and thought Bush’s biggest sin was not leaving the bailout for Obama. He acknowledged that Iraq was problematic but noted, in contrast, Obama and the Democrats went into Libya.



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Monday’s rally marked a rare return to the spotlight for George W and the first time the former president has actively campaigned on behalf of his younger brother, who is trying to reach the Oval Office as the 45th president of the United States, but seems a long way from his ambition after a listless campaign.



Since leaving office, Bush has largely avoided politics and given only a handful of interviews, preferring to devote his time to writing his memoirs and taking up oil painting. His body of work includes portraits of fellow world leaders – a sinister Vladimir Putin and a ruby-lipped Tony Blair – as well as a picture of his dog Barney and a naked self-portrait in the shower.



Democrats view his economic policies as well as foreign policy with disdain, and many on the right of the Republican party see him and his father – the 41st president George HW Bush – as big-government conservatives.



However, Bush, the 43rd president, is viewed favorably by 84% of South Carolina Republicans, particularly with its high number of military veterans. With Jeb currently in fifth place in recent polls of South Carolina, the question remains: are even the loyalists ready to vote for another chapter in the Bush dynasty?

