Mitt Romney takes swipe at Jeb Bush after ruling out third White House bid

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/31/mitt-romeny-jeb-bush-ruling-out-third-bid-white-house

Version 0 of 1.

After a highly-publicised three-week dalliance, Mitt Romney’s decision to not launch a third bid for the White House came after he concluded he would be so badly wounded in the Republican primaries, he would have little or no chance of defeating Hillary Clinton.

Coupled with signs that donors and political staff that had previously supported him are looking to support former Florida governor Jeb Bush as the mostly likely candidate to mount a comprehensive campaign against a well-funded Democratic opponent, Romney had apparently made his decision several days before his announcement on Friday.

“His hope is that someone else can come out and catch fire,” his son Tagg Romney told the Washington Post.

Romney’s exit from a race he never formally entered, places Bush and the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, firmly at the head of the 2016 Republican party lineup.

Related: Who will lead the right? New breed of Republicans compete to take on Clinton

Former Romney supporter Ron Gidwitz, a Chicago financier, outlined donors’ reluctance to back the former Massachusetts governor for a third time. “Mitt ran twice before unsuccessfully. He’s a great guy. But winning is everything in this business.”

Romney appears unlikely to put his energy behind Bush. Associates suggest that had Bush sought his advice early on, Romney might not have toyed with another bid, but Bush’s efforts to recruit Romney staff, including his likely national campaign manager, stirred him to action.

“It was like poking a bear,” the associate told the paper. With no love lost between the two, Romney took a clear swipe at Bush during Friday’s announcement, saying a new generation of Republican leaders less well known than the current field may be better able to defeat the Democrat nominee.

“I expect and hope that to be the case,” he said.

In a more gracious tone, Bush wrote in a Facebook post that Romney “has been a leader in our party for many years” and that “there are few people who have worked harder to elect Republicans across the country than he has”.