Jeb Bush to give him credit is trying. But Putin the bully? Really? We have Daesh out murdering and raping and pillaging while threatening to bring their foolery to the US. We have economic instability, racial tensions and all kinds of natural disasters (hello Texas flooding) and cold war political posturing is the best you have? Reuters quoted a speech Jeb made in Germany:

Likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “bully” and the United States and its allies in Europe should be resolute in responding to Russian aggression.

1962 please answer the red courtesy phone. If you are running against Hillary! then it stands to reason that being more tuned into all things foreign and domestic might be a good idea.

Bush, the brother of former U.S. President George W. Bush, is on a five-day tour of Europe in a bid to prove his foreign policy credentials before he is expected to launch his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination next week.

Foreign policy credentials? Not looking so good Jeb.

“Ultimately I think to deal with Putin you need to deal from strength – he’s a bully and … you enable bad behavior when you’re nuanced with a guy like that,” Bush, the former governor of Florida, told reporters in Berlin.

Priorities. Putin being a Russian is about as surprising as the sky being blue after a rainstorm. Yes, Jeb the Ukraine is one of many important issues. But posturing before you are running by talking smack about Putin is just silly. Did you even talk with your brother or his advisors? Somehow I do not think so.

“Just being clear – I’m not talking about being bellicose – but saying ‘here are the consequences of your actions’, that would deter the kind of bad outcome we don’t want to see.”

Just to be clear you are speaking as a well-connected civilian. You are not a player Jeb. And this is not so impressive to foreign or domestic audiences:

“If I was president of the United States, I’d clearly take the advice of the commanders on the ground but from the outside, without having any kind of classified information, it appears that we could have a more robust response,” he said.

Wow that is a whole lot of nothing.  Then contradicting your earlier statement you end with:

He said, however, it was essential to ensure that the United States did not isolate Moscow to such an extent that it ended up in the arms of China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ec0FBWg8ks

A bit inconsistent Jeb.  It looks more like you are on Jeb’s excellent adventure than establishing your foreign policy credentials. And it seems you want to play cold war style politics in very different world. To sell yourself effectively, you need to provide a clear answer to the question “Why should I vote for this guy?” The other issue that comes up (Note to the GOP: this is a dealbreaker) “What is the difference between Jeb and Hillary or Lizzie Warren?” America deserves better.