Is Bush 41 Apparently Voting for Hillary the Beginning or the End of the Bushes’ Involvement?

The political world was abuzz last night with the news (which, as is fitting for this insane election, was disseminated in a most bizarre fashion) that former Republican president George H.W. Bush (“41”) is apparently going to vote for Hillary Clinton. This was shocking to a lot of people because, after all, it would presumably be the first time that he has ever voted for a Democrat for president and it would be the first time in modern history that a former president of one party would support the current candidate of the other.

As for me, I wasn’t surprised much at all. In fact, last week, at the very end of my interview with Glenn Beck I predicted that, if the race was still super close at the end, that George W. Bush (“43”) would “endorse” Hillary. While I shouldn’t have used the word “endorse” because that would actually harm Hillary with some of her base (“Bush lied and people died!”), I felt confident that the logic behind this seemingly absurd prediction was really rather sound.

It has always seemed very clear to me that, for all of their many faults, the Bush family values both the institution of the presidency and the safety of the country’s future far more than any partisan loyalty to a political party. It is obvious that they, quite understandably, see Donald Trump as a direct and possibly even mortal threat to both of those concepts.

They also have a long, close, and, frankly, bizarre relationship with both Bill and Hillary Clinton. When you consider that Bill beat “41” in a nasty election and “43” replaced him by essentially running against the stain the Monica Lewinsky scandal had left, their friendships are like Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Anniston now starting to take vacations together.

Then, of course, there is the fact that Trump won the GOP nomination largely by ridiculing and destroying Jeb Bush (while blaming 9/11 on Bush “43” at a GOP debate!). This obviously gives the Bush family the “revenge” motivation to defend Jeb’s honor by helping to sink Trump’s ship. However, I actually believe, given the way the Bush family seems to operate, that this is an element which works against them actively speaking out against Trump, because of how it might easily appear that this is their real motivation (remarkably, Trump has so far restrained himself from going on a Twitter tirade about this news, likely because he is smart enough to not draw more attention to it).

The key here is whether this is the end of what we hear from the Bush family, or just the beginning. If this is it, then the impact of this simple act of conscience will be very minimal, especially since it hasn’t really been confirmed (though no one actually believes that the story is false). While Bush “41” voting for Hillary certainly gives plenty of political “cover” for others to do the same, on its own it is not an election “game-changer.”

There is nothing, at least so far, in the strange way that this news broke which would indicate that this was part of a well-designed plan as a rollout for an “Operation Take Trump Out.” It all seems way too random for that, especially given the Kennedy family sourcing, though, on the other hand, it would surprise me if there wasn’t at least some level of permission given for a family friend to release what would seem to be incredibly private information.

However, if this is indeed the opening of the floodgates rather than a random and brief rain shower, the Trump campaign may be about to get deluged with very damaging “anti-endorsements” from people whom a good percentage of Republicans, and at least some moderates, still respect.

Personally, I would literally pay money to see “tell it like it is” Barbara Bush interviewed about why she, surely, won’t be voting for Trump. I sense a pay-per-view TV special for charity in there somewhere.

While not technically family members, we could also easily see both Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice follow Bush 41’s lead with verbal eviscerations of why having a president who doesn’t have a clue what the “Nuclear Triad” is, and who cozies up to Russian dictators because they say nice things about him, is incredibly dangerous.

But obviously the “biggie” here would be Bush 43. Should he publicly indicate support for Hillary over Trump (which, especially given his father’s stance, must, at this point, be presumed to exist) it would mean that for the first time ever, every living president from both parties would have “endorsed” the same candidate. This would also mean that, if somehow still elected, Trump would be the first president in our history to never hold elected office, never win a major war, and not be endorsed by a former president.

I am the first person to tell you that most political endorsements at this stage of a presidential race are completely irrelevant. However, if done in the proper tone, a Bush “43” anti-endorsement of Trump would, in my opinion, end any chance of him being elected. A state with lots of “educated moderates,” like, for instance, North Carolina, would become instantly unwinnable for Trump.

Clearly, it would be Bush 43’s first choice to, just as he has promised, stay out of this race completely. If the debates go as poorly as many expect them to for Trump (despite the incredibly low expectations for him), the former president will likely be able to do just that while keeping his conscience clear. However, I have long believed that if it’s the bottom of the ninth with the scored tired and a runner on third, George W. Bush would step to the plate as a pinch hitter and endure the scorn of much of his own political party in order to save his country from a Trump presidency (we can only hope that the phone call from his “brother from another mother” Bill Clinton asking Bush 43 to grab his bat could somehow be hacked into and released by Wikileaks). Should that happen, the news media’s immediate revisionist history on the much-maligned Bush “43” would be truly glorious to watch.

This news about George H.W. Bush voting for Hillary certainly doesn’t prove that scenario is going to actually transpire, but it sure does leave the door wide open to it. In an election where everything seems upside down, it sure does feel good to know you can still count on at least a few prominent people to be exactly who you always thought they were.

John Ziegler is a nationally-syndicated radio talk show host and documentary filmmaker. You can follow him on Twitter at @ZigManFreud or email him at johnz@mediaite.com.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.