In an earlier post, I mentioned that part of our country's issue is that our state car is pathetic.  But this story is even worse.

During the question-and-answer session, when the association’s chairman asked Bush his favorite kind of car, Bush said he just bought a Ford Fusion. 

Here we have a presidential hopeful actually claiming to like driving a Ford Fusion.

Now, I get it, his answer is politically motivated.  He wants to get the UAW by throwing support behind a Detroit car.  He wants to get the environmentalists by pimping a green ride.  He wants to get the "common man" by riding a car with a baseline MSRP under $25,000.

I get it, I really do.  But here's the thing...so does everyone.  Jeb, buddy, your last name is "Bush":   you're not going to get the environmentalists to think you're green.  You are part of a (sadly) permanent ruling class:  you're not going to get the common man to think you're "one of the guys" by driving a POS car.   And the UAW, well, your brother started their bailout in '08 and we all saw how well that worked for his party.

There was a time when presidents had cool cars.  FDR had a Packard 12, which may not have looked the manliest, but the whole V-12 engine makes up for that in spades.  JFK had a T-bird convertible <insert-morbid-joke-here>.  LBJ had an Amphicar, which also isn't that manly, but is pretty cool in a quirky way.  Reagan rocked a '52 M-38, a '62 CJ-6, and a '83 CJ-8 (Good year, '83).  Clinton had a '67 Mustang.

You want to get some respect and popularity with we little people?  Three options:

1)  Embrace your wealth.  Get something sporty that the common man would get if he won the lottery.  Get yourself a Maserati, or a McLaren F1, or if you want to be all budget-y, an Audi.

2)  If you must go American, get something with some testosterone.  Get a Wrangler or a maybe borrow a page from your fellow Republican Fred Thompson and campaign in a red pick-up.  If you must buy Ford, get an F-150.

3)  If you're willing to restore, go classic.  As I can personally attest, you can score a CJ in good shape for well under $5,000.  Or find an old Porsche 941 for about $10,000.  Either one screams taste and commitment.

In any case, consider this:  the last time a Republican presidential candidate tried to make a big deal over his USA-made common-man ride, it was Nixon and his '50 Oldsmobile 98...and we all know how that worked out.