Jeb Bush arguably would have been the better Bush to elect in 2000, and Hillary Clinton arguably would have been a better president than Barack Obama if she had been the nominee in 2008.
But history will record that George W. Bush and Obama were the 43th and 44th presidents of the United States.
In 2016, the electorate would be better off if neither major party nominee had the Bush or Clinton name. That’s not to say neither could be elected. But the country could use a refreshing campaign in which the name of neither — nor their family members — is involved or at issue.
Current members of the Republican Bush and Democratic Clinton families have been elected in every decade since the 1960s, from George H.W. Bush being elected to Congress in 1966 to George P. Bush being elected Texas land commissioner in November.
A 2016 campaign involving Jeb Bush, no matter how unfair, would bring up the perceived shortcomings of the 43rd president and the reality that in his last few months in office the country fell heavily into a recession. Similarly, a campaign involving Hillary Clinton, no matter how unfair, would bring up the real and hinted dalliances of her husband, the 42nd president, and his impeachment as president.