Leadershiwhatever.

Asked to weigh in on the hastily constructed Republican theory that sitting presidents with a year left in their terms are no longer allowed to nominate Supreme Court justices, on Sunday Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush declared that it was "not important to me" whether Republicans permit a vote on a replacement for deceased Justice Antonin Scalia or not.

Immediately afterward, one presumes, one of Jeb's over-patient staffers likely explained that appearing to blow off one of the Constitution's few specifically named presidential duties as "not important" was not very presidential-sounding, and so Jeb was back today with a more forceful tone. Sort of.

"It’s up to Mitch McConnell in the Senate. I’m not a senator. I’m not running for the United States Senate. If he’s going to take that path, I’ll respect that completely. What shouldn’t happen in a election year, a president in a very divisive kind of time, should [not] nominate someone and have it be passed,” Bush replied. "There shouldn’t be deference to the executive.

Not my problem, says Jeb. If the Senate decides to simply refuse to consider any possible nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court for the entire year, that's fine, or if they decide to vote on a nominee that's fine too, so long as they reject that nominee. Any nominee. For God’s sake, voters, just tell me what you want to hear.

"I am taking a position," Bush said in response. "If there is an up-or-down vote, it should be rejected based on the history of how President Obama selects judges. If there’s no vote, that’s fine too."

I'll support whatever position you want, fellow Republicans. Just tell me what the frothing base, the people that have looked over the field of candidates and decided that Donald Trump is the best they can do, wants me to say. I can work with it.

I don't think the Jeb! campaign is long for this world. His every appearance seems war-weary; the toll of presenting himself as candidate only to have his party meet his campaign with a collective shrug has drained the life from the poor fellow. He's been phoning it in for a while now.