Here’s the deal the way I see it.

Jeb! Bush had a plan.  He was going to be the “sunny disposition” candidate, all smiles and Reaganesque charm. Then, in the general election, he was going to paint Hillary Clinton as a hard hearted, grumpy bitch, while he’s Mr. Cool.

That plan isn’t working out too well, thanks to Donald Trump.

He said last year that he would run for president only if he could do so with a sunny spirit, but Mr. Trump, the surprise leader in the polls, has turned this summer into a miserable one for Mr. Bush, gleefully ignoring the traditional rules of political engagement.

There is the personal ridicule — continually questioning Mr. Bush’s vigor, invoking a since-retracted statement by his mother, Barbara Bush, that “we’ve had enough Bushes” in the White House, and on Wednesday suggesting that Mr. Bush should stop speaking Spanish.

Bush has responded by attacking back, but he’s not very good at it.  He spends most of his time answering Trump’s ridicule. Jeb! has as much chance of surviving his sunny spirit as a steer in a meat packing plant.

So Jeb! ends up chasing grasshoppers while the pigs eat the corn, chasing after pests instead of protecting the ideas of this election.

I suspect Jeb! is feeling mighty temporary when Mitt Romney starts talking about entering the race.

The sunny spirit candidate is getting sand kicked in his face and he has no idea what to do about it. Watching him try to defend being bilingual and not having enough energy is pathetic, but entertaining.

Remember how Rick Perry’s smart glasses didn’t work?  Neither is Jeb!’s exclamation point.

Thanks to Bryan for the heads up.