"unless there's a sibling hate-on ..."
"unless there's a sibling hate-on that we don't anything about."
OK, what the hell. Yes, there is. Jeb is as bright as W is brain-dead. Jeb is driven by intellect and genuine ideology, a guy who favors "what you know", where W could care less about ideology, and gets by in the world on the good-ole-boy "who you know" approach. They are opposites. And uneasy rival siblings who don't care much for each others' life philosophies. And while I won't profess to know where Jeb's thoughts on religion stand, it's my impression from a lot closer than casual distance that Jeb doesn't take positions and pursue agendas b/c he thinks God is telling him what to do, and likely doesn't have a great deal of respect for W's theocratic instincts. W knows this and resents it. One thing you'll hear from anyone who knows Jeb or has worked near him -- he doesn't suffer fools gladly. 'Nuff said on that.
Then there are the family dynamics - all during the growing up years, they coddled Neil, let W screw off, and busted Jeb's chops. Not surprising given that they thought he was the serious one, with the functioning brain. Not hard to see where the resentment started. Where things really went off the rails was when W married the cookie cutter type that mummy Babs thought kept up the right family appearances, while Jeb followed his heart and married Columba - a Mexican (gasp!). He was blackballed from family gatherings for years, and his children referred to as "the little brown ones". Barbara Bush is one of the nastiest beyatches around and her scorn there was just ugly. Papa Bush is what held that family together, such as it was. I'm convinced the reason the press never blew the whistle on his longstanding affair with Jennifer Fitzgerald all through his years as VP and President, was because they felt so sorry for him having to deal with Barbara the beeeyatch.
There's lots more, but it ain't fit for public consumption. Let's just say, you hit the nail on the head. If the Bush family is attacked from the outside, then they'll close ranks. But beyond that, there is absolutely no love lost between the two. And while I don't think W would go out of his way to screw over Jeb, I can guarantee you he wouldn't lift a finger to help him, without daddy stepping in. And as we know, daddy's influence in W's life is more limited than ever.
AI
