Touting Jeb Bush’s experience, George W. Bush rallies donors

And a Bush ally suggested that Rubio should think about resigning from the Senate given his focus on the presidency.

“When there’s a hurricane, the primary responsibility for recovery is the state”, George Bush said.

Bush is assuring top donors to his brother’s presidential campaign that Jeb Bush will be a “fierce competitor” in the 2016 race for the White House. They also likened the young senator to President Obama, arguing that the two have “strikingly similar profiles” in their relative lack of executive experience while seeking the White House.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the summit Sunday, an official with Right to Rise U.S., the pro-Bush super PAC, criticized Rubio twice over fundraising.

The panel on Fox News’ Special Report tonight ripped Jeb Bush for his complaining about the campaign this past weekend.

“I vetoed a couple of projects for one of the presidential candidates”, he said during a moderated discussion.

The slide details how politicians from Florida, including a number serving in the state legislature where Rubio served as Speaker, have endorsed Bush for president.

Rubio’s campaign did not immediately respond to the criticism.

In a PowerPoint presentation, delivered at a donor retreat in Houston, Bush advisers sought to calm concerns about his campaign by highlighting his advantages in money, endorsements and data over his GOP rivals. They’re laser-focused on the idea that as long as Bush has the cash, discipline and organization, he can push through.

Marco Rubio is rising in the polls.

“We were a very competitive family”, he said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy freely.

Later when George W. Bush reprised his Yale commencement address line informing C students, “You too can be president”, Jeb Bush cut through the laughter in the room to make a more serious point. The latter wore a “Jeb!” button to a Sunday night barbecue dinner. Jeb Bush recalled the horned toads and tumbleweeds of his early years in Midland, Texas, where George H.W. Bush, the son of a US senator from Connecticut, moved to get his start in the oil business.

Although outsider GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson are topping the polls at the moment, the Bush team touted its strong support on Capitol Hill to the wealthy donors.

It highlighted polls making the electability argument for Bush, showing him ahead of Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical match-up, and it gave details on the strength of his ground game in the early states. “We addressed all the key opponents, including Marco, and will contrast Jeb’s leadership skills with theirs”, Jack Oliver, Bush’s campaign finance co-chairman, told The Associated Press.

“It’s like a lot of dating”, Kostrzewa added.

“I remember it differently, mom”, Jeb Bush interjected.

The elder Bush spoke to the unexpected challenges that can arise during a president’s administration – in reference to the September 11th attacks – and how his brother has the kind of background and steadiness needed to deal with those challenges if elected. Many Republicans want their next president to not be a third Bush, and a few harbor resentment at George W. Bush for launching the Iraq war in 2003.