Is Jeb Bush willing to be the adult who finally calls bullshit on this reality show — and essentially makes his campaign about fixing the systemic problems and perverse incentives that have come to define the GOP primary process since 2008? While I like the idea of someone assuming a leadership role in restoring order to the GOP’s self-flagellating nomination process, no good deed goes unpunished.

Here’s the problem: Let’s suppose Jeb Bush decided to take a stand on this. The odds are, he would stand alone. The event would likely still happen in his absence, and other candidates would reap the benefits of participation.What if Jeb Bush sits out the debate and Marco Rubio rises to the occasion by taking Trump to task for his rhetoric about Mexicans?

And that’s just beginning. Sitting out a debate is one thing, but what about the second or third or fourth? It would become a test of wills. If Bush eventually relents and decides to enter the debates, he loses.