Ira Stoll: How Will Jeb Bush Handle the 'Catholic Question' on the Campaign Trail?
A new poll shows the former governor of Florida, brother of President Bush 43 and son of President Bush 41, leading the field of potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates. The poll comes just as Pope Francis is moving assertively, and some might say clumsily, on the public policy front, inspiring the deal between Havana and Washington to renew full diplomatic relations and preparing a papal encyclical on climate change.
As a Catholic candidate for the U.S. presidency in 2016, Jeb Bush may well face questions linking him to Pope Francis' outspoken liberalism. Will those questions hurt Bush's chances at winning the White House? Ira Stoll investigates.