In terms of public policy, of course, the two have vast disagreements—particularly on the issues of abortion and LGBT rights. But stylistically and biographically, the pair have eery similarities—including their vulnerabilities. As a duo, they’ve given East Coast pundits ample opportunities to mortify themselves. Oversold and overestimated, the pair demonstrate just how meager is the appetite for centrist-leaning, dynastic optimists. Jeb’s defeat foreshadowed Clinton’s struggles. So the facts are hard to get around: Hillary is the Jeb of the left.

Before the primaries really got going, conventional wisdom (“wisdom”) held that the most salient similarities between Bush and Clinton were their access to cash and relation to former presidents. And Clinton’s eventual likely success will be due to her ability to be even Jebbier than Jeb—even more money, even more endorsements, even more intimate connections with even more power-brokering elites (they even share a few donors!). But power-brokering elites ain’t what they used to be.

The reality is, this is Mad Max: Presidential Election, and kind-hearted technocrats are adorably D.O.A. The betting markets all favor Clinton, but national polls suggest the race could be more competitive than just about anyone could have conceived of a month ago (an ABC News/Washington Post poll of registered voters conducted from May 16-May 19 gave him a teensy lead of 2 percentage points). That’s probably in part because Clinton and Bush share many of the same flaws: social awkwardness, boundless capacity for gaffeing, acute interest in issues that literally zero voters find interesting, and a singular ability to seem inauthentic even when they were just being themselves.