Great expectations? Bush surprises many in NH

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at a town hall in Bedford to a packed house. Photo by Anna Sortino

BEDFORD, N.H. — The expectations of presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s town hall here were low. Micheal Bender of Bloomberg News, who has reported on the Bush campaign for the past 15 months, said, “For a son and brother of former presidents, he has such low expectations. People have such low expectations for him when they walk into a room.”

However, this town hall at McKelvie Intermediate School was Bush’s best event to date. “You all saw Bush today. That was Bush’s best,” Bender said. “Inevitably, I go to these events and people always walk out and they go, “Oh, he was better than I thought he was.’ ”

Diane Trivers, one vote of many who candidates are vying for in the first in the nation primary, was one of those people. Trivers said that though she was not expecting anything new from the event, she attended in an effort to learn more about his policies.

And Bush did do the unexpected; he discussed his daughter Noelle’s battle with drugs in front of his wife, Columba, seated a feet away, for the first time.

Bush’s rare emotional display resonated with many, including Trivers, who are concerned about the drug problem in New Hampshire. This sneak peak into Bush’s personal life prompted her to give Bush a second look before voting on Tuesday. Drivers said, “Like I said, I wasn’t expecting much, but after seeing him talk about his daughter, who knows.”