This anecdote from Jeb Bush’s European trip shows how very low the bar was set for the former governor on foreign policy:

During the European tour, continued unease here with George W. Bush seemed to lower expectations for Jeb Bush. When German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked Mr. Bush during a private meeting about how he would solve the conflict in Syria, the former governor gave a nuanced answer that eased concerns that his first response would be sending U.S. troops [bold mine-DL], according to people present.

I suppose it’s good that invading Syria wouldn’t be Bush’s first response, but judging him by this standard cuts him far too much slack. Jeb Bush tends to get a lot more credit for being somewhat informed than he should because his brother was so famously incurious and clueless. Despite the real and damaging baggage that the Bush name brings with it, the younger Bush still receives praise for passing simple tests that his brother failed as a candidate (and as a president). Thus Bush pleasantly surprised the German minister he met when he gave a “nuanced” answer, because the minister was presumably expecting him to offer a simplistic and ignorant one. It should be a given that a reasonably intelligent and educated person seeking the presidency can give a nuanced answer on a major issue. If Bush’s past public statements on Cuba and Iran are any indication, he doesn’t make a habit of it.