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 The more introverted nature of Jeb, who admits he would rather
stay home with a book than go out dancing, could be one challenge
for his expected presidential campaign as he begins the kind of
face-to-face interaction needed in the early voting states of Iowa
and New Hampshire.
The former Florida governor will need to convince voters to elect
another Bush in 2016 over other Republican stars, many of whom so
far appear more at ease in the public glare, such as New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Bush, who has not run for office for 12 years and who admits he lost
the 1994 Florida governor race because people did not connect with
him, has not always looked comfortable on stage in the early stages
of the Republican nominee race.
Bush's aides say he prefers question-and-answer formats to set-piece
speeches because they plays to his strengths, such as a detailed
knowledge of policy. Many Republicans say that all he needs to do is
shake off some rust.
"Jeb's got substance," said Florida Republican strategist Rick
Wilson. "He's got a lot of stories to tell as a successful governor
and those things matter in the assessment people are going to make
about the various candidates in the field."
 The brother of former President George W. Bush and son of former
President George H.W. Bush is a practiced public speaker, but he
tends to rush through prepared speeches and image experts say he has
room to improve his body language.
And Bush is downright nerdy when it comes to details of policy and
prides himself on minutiae. While the folksy George W. Bush famously
described al Qaeda militants as "evildoers," Jeb uses diplomat-speak
to say the extremist Islamic State group is an "asymmetric threat."
David Yepsen, a long-time Iowa watcher who is director of the Paul
Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said
presidential candidates need an electric and charismatic presence
and Bush has a ways to go to get there.
"If he’s not exciting them with speeches and rhetoric the way Barack
Obama did, he’s got to do that personally and spend time with
caucus-goers and primary voters and really work to overcome some of
the problems he has as a result of his being the third Bush to run,"
he said.
WINNING THE IMAGE BATTLE
Image can be a crucial factor in presidential races, as voters seek
someone they can envision in the Oval Office and to whom they can
relate. The 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, was seen as stiff
and aloof, a perception that also dogged Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
Image experts describe Bush's body language as a work in progress
after reviewing videotapes of his recent appearances.
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They notice that he slumps his shoulders forward to look less than
his six-foot-four-inch frame, and that he rubs his hands together,
twists his wedding ring and thrusts a hand into a pocket, all signs
suggesting some degree of public anxiety.
Jane Seaman, owner of the Imagine Image consulting firm in Houston,
said Bush "seems uncomfortable in his clothes."
Image consultants say he will need to add passion to his obvious
policy expertise.
"His words are very crafted. He's not yet personally passionate,"
said Patsy Cisneros, owner of West Coast-based Corporate Icon, an
executive image specialist.
Bush is not known to consult an image specialist. The Bush camp
declined to comment on how he is prepared for public appearances.
At an agricultural forum in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Bush
appeared to be getting the hang of things. He praised the local food
and reminisced warmly about his father's first, unsuccessful
presidential bid in 1979.
The 62-year-old Jeb admits that he's at heart an introvert, telling
a crowd in San Francisco recently that he "would rather read a book
than go out and get in a conga line or go dancing."
When he ran again for Florida governor in 1998 and won, he did so by
showing voters he cared about issues important to them. Vowing to
improve education, for example, he visited 250 schools.
"I earned it by working hard to connect with people," he said in
Detroit last month. "That experience on a national scale is going to
be part of the strategy."
(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; editing by Stuart Grudgings)
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