Christie slides, Jeb Bush rises

The third issue that could cause Bush headaches as a presidential candidate is his support for Common Core. He’s not backing down, despite the controversy, declaring at a charter high school in Hialeah last week, “The aspiration ought to be: Every child should be college- or career-ready. And we should benchmark ourselves to the best in the world. The good-faith effort of Common Core State Standards and now these Florida standards is the right path to be on.”

The problem for Bush is that a vocal chunk of the conservative grassroots thinks Common Core is precisely the opposite of a “good-faith effort.”

As that senior Republican strategist puts it, “Jeb doesn’t understand the intense and growing hatred of Common Core at the grassroots. I’m telling you, it’s a red line for GOP primary voters. No amount of explaining is going to fix it, and no amount of ‘for the good of the country’ talk is going to make it saleable to them. They hate it. They loathe Common Core. I started hearing it de novo from people not in our world of 24/7 political fury but ordinary types who are reacting to what their kids are bringing home.”