Sen. Ted Cruz's dive into the 2016 presidential race may hurt other conservative candidates and be a big boost for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, says Jennifer Rubin, author of The Washington Post's "Right Turn" column.
"There should be the concern that when you have a lot of these other candidates who probably can't win, but get into the race, [they] wind up fracturing the conservative end of the spectrum," Rubin said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"That leads to a free lane for Jeb Bush on the moderate side and then the conservatives are all divided amongst themselves. That's how we got Mitt Romney and John McCain, for example.
"There is a little bit of a danger there. I'm not so sure that Jeb Bush isn't jumping up and down for joy that he's in the race."
On Monday, Cruz, a conservative Texas Republican, became the first in his party to formally declare a run for the White House. But his entrance also has the potential to spell problems for Bush when it comes to debating hot-button issues, according to Rubin.
"Cruz is a pretty sharp debater and will ask some tough questions," Rubin said.
"Why, for example, has Jeb Bush not said unequivocally he will not abide by an agreement with Iran that gives them, for example, thousands of centrifuges, a pathway to a nuclear breakout, and [which] is not affirmed by the Senate? He refuses to say that unequivocally.
"In the debate, that's going to be a hard position to sustain this kind of wishy-washy 'you know how I feel about Israel' wink-wink when you have someone like Cruz in the race. In that regard, it may be a little bit difficult for Jeb Bush."
Rubin also said former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the Democrats' presumed 2016 choice, is in a tough spot when it comes to commenting on the Iran nuclear negotiations and the bitter relationship of President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"This is supposed to be her claim to fame. This is why she's qualified to be commander-in-chief because she knows so much and she has such great ideas and she's the most brilliant woman on the planet, and yet, she won't speak up and that's because she's in this bind," Rubin said.
"The vast majority of Americans … are very supportive of Israel and it puts her in a tough way with some of the Democratic donor base.
"On the other hand, if she crosses [the president], she's going to get another challenge from the left for sure."
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