Jeb Bush Looks For Boost from His Brother in S.C.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Guess who you're going to get to see again? George W. Bush on the campaign trail. The former president is making his debut in support of his brother Jeb. It happens Monday in South Carolina. This is the first time the two brothers have campaigned together after coming fourth in New Hampshire, of course. It's a critical week for Jeb Bush. Our Athena Jones looks at how his big brother could offer a bit of a boost.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: I know Jeb.</s>ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George W. Bush is back.</s>G.W. BUSH: Experience and judgment count in the Oval Office. Jeb Bush is a leader who will keep our country safe. He respects the military, he honors their families.</s>JONES: And Jeb Bush couldn't be happier about it.</s>JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's the last Republican that was president. He's the most popular Republican alive. I'm a proud brother of George W. Bush.</s>JONES: Bush, whose campaign logo doesn't even include his famous last name and who begin his run as, quote, "his own man", has been embracing his family more with each passing day.</s>J. BUSH: I'm Jeb, exclamation point. Proud to be a Bush.</s>JONES: His mother Barbara Bush joining him on the stump in New Hampshire. The brothers will be campaigning together for the first time Monday. Until now, W. has been helping out behind the scenes.</s>J. BUSH: This is the first time he's really kind of stepped out in the political realm since he was president. I think there'd be a lot of interest in what he has to say.</s>JONES: It was once thought that the younger brother had the head for politics but his older brother beat him there, winning a governorship first, and later, the White House.</s>G.W. BUSH: I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear --</s>JONES: Eight years during which Jeb Bush has said he never disagreed with his brother on policy.</s>INTERVIEWER: Not one time did you call up and say, you know what, don't do that?</s>J. BUSH: I'm not going to start now. It's just -- till death do us part.</s>JONES: The assist from W. won't come without criticism.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your brother and your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama, because it was a disaster those last three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.</s>J. BUSH: You know what? As it relates to my brother, there's one thing I know for sure, he kept us safe.</s>JONES: Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed the elder brother's decision to go to war in Iraq, and the GOP front-runner says he'll be ready with some more choice words for the Bushes in the coming days.</s>TRUMP: Now, he's bringing in his brother. I won't say anything. I'm going to save that for after his brother makes his statement, because there's plenty to say about what happened.</s>JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Let's bring back, CNN political commentator, Errol Louis, Justin Sayfie, Republican strategist and Bush supporter and Barry Bennett, former campaign manager for Dr. Ben Carson. Justin, I want to start with you. Former President Bush will be on the trails at the start of the week. What do you expect his role will be beyond, you know, supporting his brother, especially on national defense? Will he go after any of the opponents directly?</s>JUSTIN SAYFIE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't expect him to do that. I expect George Bush to talk about what he -- the man he knows to be his brother Jeb Bush. As was mentioned in that opening piece there, George Bush is very popular in South Carolina. I think it's very risky for Donald Trump to start attacking as he did Barbara Bush last week and now if he's going start attacking George Bush. Look, Jeb Bush is his own man, he has his own record. He was an incredibly successful governor in the largest swing state in Florida. His record speaks for itself. He's a member of the Bush family. His brother is going to come campaign for him there in South Carolina. I don't expect George Bush to be attacking other Republicans. I expect to see him talking about the man that he knows Jeb Bush to be.</s>BLACKWELL: Errol, I was at a Venus Restaurant, a Bush event in Florence, South Carolina. There was a man who heaped the Bush love and praised the family and Jeb Bush but then said he was a Trump supporter because he was tired of Republican politicians coming cycle after cycle saying the same thing and doing nothing. Is the love in South Carolina strong enough for the Bushes that it outweighs that sentiment that we're seeing not just in South Carolina but in all the states of the cycle?</s>BLACKWELL: Barry, before winning the nomination, you've got Rubio, you've got Kasich, you've got Bush who are trying to win this primary within the primary, the more traditional, the establishment vote. Is there a front runner in that lane now?</s>BARRY BENNETT, FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR DR. BEN CARSON: You know, I don't think there is. I think they're all kind of bunched together every time we have what we think is a front runner in that lane, something happens. I mean, Marco Rubio came out of Iowa as the front- runner. Kasich comes out as the front-runner and I don't know what will happen here.</s>BLACKWELL: So, Barry, what are you looking for tonight?</s>BENNETT: In the debate, I mean, you know, look, this is the eighth or ninth. I don't know. I'm losing count.</s>BLACKWELL: Ninth.</s>BENNETT: I think the very deaf information of insanity is to do the same thing and expect a different outcome. So, I don't think there's going to be much movement coming out of the debate tonight. You know, the vote here in South Carolina is surprisingly settled. The public polling that I've seen recently, the undecided vote is very small. It's not like New Hampshire where there's a lot of breaking at the end. It's going to be a turnout game, it's going to be a ground game, and, you know, you've got to love where Donald Trump is living right now. He had 13,000 in Baton Rouge the other night, 11,000 in Tampa, over 100,000 people in South Carolina have come to a Trump rally. He's doing something right.</s>BLACKWELL: Justin, Governor Bush has -- who is that trying to jump in there? Was that you, Errol?</s>SAYFIE: That's right, Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: Go ahead, Justin. Go ahead.</s>SAYFIE: I just wanted to say, look. We saw what happened to Marco Rubio after that last debate. And four years ago, Newt Gingrich won the CNN debate and ended up winning the South Carolina primaries. So, I don't want to set expectations too high for the debate tonight, but we have seen both four years ago in South Carolina and last week in New Hampshire, the debates can be impactful.</s>BLACKWELL: So, what does Governor Bush have to do tonight?</s>SAYFIE: Well, I think Governor Bush needs to continue to talk about his record, talk about his vision for the future. He has the most extensive policy plans on his website, Jeb2016.com, and he needs to take on Donald Trump and show that he's -- and show Donald Trump for what he is. I think that's what you're going to see, because you can't win the nomination unless you're willing to take on the front- runner.</s>BLACKWELL: Well, you're certainly going have some incoming from Senator Rubio who said this week that your candidate, Governor Bush, doesn't have any foreign policy experience.</s>SAYFIE: Yes. Well, that's interesting to come from Marco Rubio who's been in Washington. And, look, Governor Bush has assembled a terrific panel of foreign policy experts, and his plan that he gave at the Reagan library to defeat ISIS, I'll put up against other over candidates plan to defeat is. Let's let the voters look at the plans they have to address foreign policy challenges like defeating</s>ISIS. BLACKWELL: Justin Sayfie, Barry Bennett, Errol Louis, thank you all. We are counting down the hours until the, we're keeping track, ninth GOP debate tonight in Greenville, South Carolina.</s>LOUIS: Thank you.</s>SAYFIE: Thanks, Victor.</s>PAUL: It's not going to look like anything we receive before because we have whittled down candidates here.</s>BLACKWELL: Yes.</s>PAUL: All right. Diplomats working to secure a ceasefire in Syria today. Will it be too late to help the folks in Aleppo? We have a live report on the site of those talks. Also, he wrote all those songs on an album while he was grieving the loss of his daughter. She died at Sandy Hook elementary. Well, Monday, Jimmy Green, could be a Grammy winner. We're talking to him in just a moment.