Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has found himself supporting a number of President Barack Obama's positions as he navigates the campaign trail, triggering questions by conservatives about the credibility of his strategy.
According to The Washington Post, Bush has signaled his support for the president's trade deal, praises his management of the National Security Agency, and agreed with the president that Congress should have accelerated the nomination of attorney general Loretta Lynch.
"It's stunning, frankly, that a candidate on the Republican side would be doing his best to line himself up with some of the president's policies," Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots who now leads a group called Citizens of Self-Governance, told the Post.
Bush's tone, he added, puts him "out of step with the American people."
The strategy is seen to be born out of an attempt to present a conciliatory tone that would play well in a general election.
"A lot of people are noticing. Not a day goes by where I don't get an email about his latest statements," said Erick Erickson, a radio show host and founder of the conservative Red State blog, according to the Post. "He has said in the past he is concerned about the tone and rhetoric of the primary season, but I think he has over-corrected to the point of sounding more closely aligned to the president than Hillary Clinton."
Bush, however, does regularly attack Obama's foreign policy positions and handling of domestic issues such as the economy and the Keystone XL pipeline, the Post said. And he has been a vocal critic of Obamacare.
"His tendency to refrain from being too aggressive in his attacks on Obama reflects his absence from what he often calls the years-long 'food fight' between the current White House and congressional Republicans," the Post said.
Bush, himself, has acknowledged his intention to credit Obama when he feels the president has taken the right positions. He has said, for example, that Obama was successful in imposing tougher sanctions on Iran as it developed its nuclear program.
"I'm not a big Obama fan, but when he does something right we need to give him credit," Bush said during a recent appearance in Denver, according to the Post.
Nevertheless, Bush has been highly critical of the Iran nuclear deal struck by the administration, describing the agreement as "very naïve,"
The Washington Free Beacon reported.
Despite some criticism for his conciliatory tone toward Obama, some believe it raises the quality of the political debate.
A supporter who hosted a house party for Bush, Fergus Cullen, told the Post that he did so because "he's going to up the level of dialogue for himself and other candidates."