# Where's Columba Bush? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 7, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438 "2016-02-07T16:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/1 "2016-02-07T16:48:50Z")
Right now, Jeb Bush is so desperate he’s bringing his mother on the campaign trail. Well, okay. Barbara Bush is a fairly popular, likable person. She may do him some good. But where’s his wife Columba? Has she done ANY campaign appearances? Candidates ALWAYS have their spouses by their sides! I’ve wondered about this before. Is she just shy, or does she speak English extremely poorly after all these years in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/2 "2016-02-07T17:01:17Z")
Of course, there’s another sad possibility: in a year when illegal immigration is such a huge issue, Jeb might feel it’s safer not to remind the voters of his wife’s ethnicity. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/3 "2016-02-07T17:08:20Z")
She is supposedly shy and self-conscious about her accent so doesn’t like to speak in public. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/4 "2016-02-07T17:35:53Z")
ALL the republican candidate wives have been making themselves scarce. It’s almost as if…they could be liabilities? Mrs. Trump = the Donald’s third mail-order blow-up doll. Mrs. Carson = only exists in that one gone-viral photo of Ben’s announcement, where she clearly got dressed in a pitch-black room. Mrs. Rubio = ex-professional cheerleader. Mrs. Bush = Mexican. Mrs. Cruz = only piece of common knowledge about her is when the Texas cops found her parked on the side of the freeway, head down and sobbing, because, well, “Mrs. Cruz.” Mrs. Christie: whereabouts unknown. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/5 "2016-02-07T17:38:20Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Mrs. Christie: whereabouts unknown. She said, “Eat me,” during sex, and, well. . . he did. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/6 "2016-02-07T17:42:15Z")
She must be a hell of a good cook, though. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/7 "2016-02-07T17:46:49Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Mrs. Christie: whereabouts unknown. Pine Barrens? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/8 "2016-02-07T18:05:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > She is supposedly shy and self-conscious about her accent so doesn’t like to speak in public. Not an implausible explanation. > [@astorian](#): > > Of course, there’s another sad possibility: in a year when illegal immigration is such a huge issue, Jeb might feel it’s safer not to remind the voters of his wife’s ethnicity. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/9 "2016-02-07T18:42:30Z")
I thought there was plenty o’ video evidence of her speaking in public? I suspect it’s the illegal immigration thing, which makes him a dork. Do they want Latino voters or not? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/10 "2016-02-07T19:22:19Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > I thought there was plenty o’ video evidence of her speaking in public? > > I suspect it’s the illegal immigration thing, which makes him a dork. Do they want Latino voters or not? How many are voting in the Republican primaries? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/11 "2016-02-07T19:34:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Right now, Jeb Bush is so desperate he’s bringing his mother on the campaign trail. Well, okay. Barbara Bush is a fairly popular, likable person. She may do him some good. > > But where’s his wife Columba? Stuffing envelopes for Marco Rubio? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/12 "2016-02-07T19:58:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Right now, Jeb Bush is so desperate he’s bringing his mother on the campaign trail. Well, okay. Barbara Bush is a fairly popular, likable person. She may do him some good. > > But where’s his wife Columba? Has she done ANY campaign appearances? Candidates ALWAYS have their spouses by their sides! There may be some people who find Barbara Bush “likable,” but she has persistently shown herself to be a vitriolic bitch since she came to the public’s attention in 1980. Perhaps in reaction to that, I recall that Laura Bush was notably reticent about public appearances and her sister-out-law may simply choose the same reticence. I am also curious as to the claim that Jeb is bringing Barbara to the campaign trail. She has gotten herself quoted a few times, (in her standard nasty manner), but I have not recalled seeing her escorting Jeb at actual rallies. Any time she appears in public, the press knows that she is good for a sound bite and I had the impression that that was the source of her recent statements. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/13 "2016-02-07T19:58:49Z")
Given the way Jeb!'s campaign has gone, maybe she’s embarrassed at the prospect of being seen in public with him. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/14 "2016-02-07T20:38:31Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I am also curious as to the claim that Jeb is bringing Barbara to the campaign trail. She has gotten herself quoted a few times, (in her standard nasty manner), but I have not recalled seeing her escorting Jeb at actual rallies. Any time she appears in public, the press knows that she is good for a sound bite and I had the impression that that was the source of her recent statements. Thursday night in [Derry](http://www.npr.org/2016/02/05/465672072/barbara-bush-draws-a-crowd-in-new-hampshire-campaigning-for-jeb), at least. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/15 "2016-02-07T20:44:04Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > I thought there was plenty o’ video evidence of her speaking in public? > > I suspect it’s the illegal immigration thing, which makes him a dork. Do they want Latino voters or not? How many Latino voters are there in Iowa and NH? Give it time. She may come out yet. Of curse, he may not have time… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/16 "2016-02-07T20:47:36Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > I thought there was plenty o’ video evidence of her speaking in public? But she does not seem to particularly like or enjoy it. And as mentioned most of the candidate spouses have remained very low key throughout this campaign, I could not tell you for sure I’d recognize most of their faces and voices. Certainly not to the point I recognized Ann Romney or Michelle Obama by the time of their respective NH appearances. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/17 "2016-02-07T21:22:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > She is supposedly shy and self-conscious about her accent so doesn’t like to speak in public. I wonder if he’s thought ahead as to who would be First Lady if he won… ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/18 "2016-02-07T21:24:23Z")
Jeb Bush is married to [Columba Bush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba_Bush), an immigrant who was born in Mexico. Ben Carson is married to [Lacena “Candy” Carson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Carson) ([photo](https://usatelections.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/ap_gop_2016_carson.jpg?w=500&h=333)) who is from the inner city of Detroit and met her husband while they were both students at Yale. Chris Christie is married to [Mary Pat Foster](http://www.ibtimes.com/who-mary-pat-christie-governors-wife-was-wall-street-trader-family-breadwinner-1988244), a Wall St trader from Pennsylvania. She met her husband when they were both students at the University of Delaware. Ted Cruz is married to [Heidi Cruz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Cruz), an investment manager at Goldman Sachs from southern California. Marco Rubio is married to [Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanette_Dousdebes_Rubio), a daughter of immigrants from Colombia who previously was a Miami Dolphins cheerleader. Donald Trump is married to [Melania Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melania_Trump), an immigrant from Slovenia and former model. Two are immigrants and one is daughter of immigrants. I would think the candidates would tout those immigrant roots in talking about immigration issues. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/19 "2016-02-07T21:25:18Z")
In the general election, _claro que s_i!! ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438/20 "2016-02-15T22:03:45Z")
Barbara Bush is “likable”? She’s always seemed to me more the meaner older sister of Angela Lansbury in _The Manchurian Candidate_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-columba-bush/745438.md?page=2)