Things Moving Fast on Iraq War for GOP Candidates: Watershed Moment?

George had those decider eyes, even then. Jeb not so
much. Older Jeb, same as the younger Jeb? Maybe so.

Josh Marshall is onto something:

I mentioned a couple days ago that this might be happening. And now I think we're seeing that it is. Improbably, Jeb Bush's run for president and painful bumbling have triggered, though by no means caused, a watershed moment in the country's reckoning with the strategic blunder - and let's just say it - self-inflicted catastrophe of the Iraq War.

It was one thing when John Kasich and Chris Christie said they would not have invaded Iraq - guys who would run as relative moderates and either aren't running or don't realize they're not running for president. (Rand Paul said the same but that's no surprise.) But now we have Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz saying they would not have either. Rubio is the big tell here since he among all the 2016 contenders is angling for the support of the neoconservative foreign policy intelligentsia. If he can say categorically that it was a mistake, the debate is probably really finally over.

In the end, Jeb may have solved his own problem. By getting mainstream Republicans -- and even hawkish tea-partiers -- to land on the negative side of judging the Iraq War, Jeb blends in with conventional wisdom. Republicans still view by a slim margin that the Iraq War was the right thing to do (52%), but this is fading fast. This time next year, and even Republicans may abandon the War.

Josh Marshall's TPM also did some reporting on this in January.

So, after passing this watershed moment, Jeb Bush may not be distinguishable from the rest of the GOP field on the issue of the Iraq War, that pesky legacy from his big brother. And that might be a blessing for the harried candidate. Blending in -- on this one issue -- gets Jeb past a big hurdle.

Next up: immigration. Uh-oh.