Jeb Bush Complaining About Debate Time Highlights His Continued Desperation

Jeb Bush is still haunted by his low talk time at the last GOP debate in Colorado and that frustration definitely showed up quickly in Tuesday’s debate in Milwaukee when Ohio Governor John Kasich interrupted him.

In fact, complaining about time makes Bush look desperate and it hurts him the most as he tries to convince everyone — party leaders, donors, voters, (and maybe even himself) — that he's the party's nominee. Click To Tweet

At the start of the Fox Business Network debate, Bush tried to defend his talk time, complaining, “You already made two comments, John. It’s my turn.” Testily, he added: “I got about four minutes last debate. I’m gonna get my question right now.”

But Kasich ignored him and interrupted anyway.

It’s understandable that Bush is concerned about the time he gets in debates — if he’s a different candidate than the current perception, he needs time to prove it. However, as Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson points out, he’s squandering the time he does have in more ways than one.

Complaining about speaking time: never a good look, and wastes the time you do have.

— Kristen S Anderson (@KSoltisAnderson) November 11, 2015

In fact, complaining about time makes Bush look desperate and it hurts him the most as he tries to convince everyone — party leaders, donors, voters, (and maybe even himself) — that he’s the party’s nominee.