Moderate Republicans are quick to attack conservatives, often without provocation.  But when it comes to attacking Democrats, they become tongue-tied.  Such was the case today when both Bush and Hillary were speaking before the same audience, and Hillary, speaking first, launched a surprise attack on Bush.

Jeb Bush and his aides had envisioned a big, inclusive, high-minded speech about race on Friday in his home state of Florida, a chance to bring his message of colorblind opportunity to a prestigious group of African-American leaders.

In a rare gesture of bipartisanship, Mr. Bush even planned to warmly quote President Obama, usually the subject of his derision.

Quick note: please let me know in the comments section, why is Bush a Republican?

Then Hillary Rodham Clinton stomped all over those plans.

In a biting surprise attack, delivered as Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor, waited backstage here at the annual convention of the National Urban League, Mrs. Clinton portrayed him as a hypocrite who had set back the cause of black Americans.

“People can’t rise if they can’t afford health care,” Mrs. Clinton said to applause from conventiongoers, a dig at Mr. Bush’s opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

“They can’t rise if the minimum wage is too low to live on,” she said, a jab at his opposition to raising the federal minimum wage.

“They can’t rise if their governor makes it harder for them to get a college education,” she said, a critique of Mr. Bush’s decision as governor to eliminate affirmative action in college admissions.

Mr. Bush appeared unprepared to respond, thanking Mrs. Clinton for joining him at the event but otherwise leaving her criticism unanswered in his own speech.

Well, at least Jeb managed to thank her.  I'm thinking if she peed on him, Jeb would smile and say it was raining.

This is the problem with Republicans.  Because they belief nothing, they can recite empty words from a prepared speech, but they don't have the intellectual firepower to defend their supposed beliefs.  Bush's performance was just as bad as Rick Perry's yesterday when he stumbled through a weird statement saying John Boehner and Mitch McConnell were reducing government spending.

Bush could have said that Hillary was race-baiting.  He could have said that so-called affirmative action helps some races at the expense of others.  He also could have said that as governor he set up a program that let students in the top of the class at all their schools attend college, and since many schools are heavily minority, there are still plenty of black and Hispanics going to college. 

Bush could have discussed how the minimum wage kills jobs, how it's supposed to be a training wage for unskilled kids to get their first foot on the job ladder.  He could have talked about how Obamacare has radically increased premiums and restricted access to doctors.

Instead, all he said was "Thank you, Hillary," because (a) he believes nothing and (b) he knows nothing.

I think this performance virtually guarantees that if Jeb is the nominee, Hillary is going to walk right over him, the same way Obama walked over Mitt Romney and John McCain.  The only way we can win is if we have a candidate who believes in something (besides amnesty, common core, and global warming) and is able to articulate it.

This article was produced by NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.