Jeb! Comeback Watch: Barbara Bush Is All In!

For a few months now, Jeb Bush's campaign has been insisting that the Jeb! Comeback is on, and that the media should get in on the ground floor of this amazing narrative. Can an infusion of blue blood help? Let's find out. Here's how the comeback is going .

As former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush mounts his amazing comeback run for the Republican nomination, neutral observers may be given cause to wonder, "Isn't this an odd turn of events for a member of a famously gifted political family?" Indeed, one of the stranger things about this political season is watching brother Jeb -- the "smart" one -- follow the path his cocksure older bro took to primary victory and struggle to get anywhere near the same results. 

Maybe the next thing you wonder is, "What is it like to witness this as one of Jeb's family members?" Well, we have some developments on that front. Jeb has apparently managed to score the all-but-certainly game-changing endorsement of his own mother. It took a while, but she's finally convinced.

More or less, I mean. There's a bit of equivocation near the end!

BARBARA BUSH: Jeb has been a very good father, a wonderful son, a hard worker. His heart is big. When push comes to shove, people are going to realize Jeb has real solutions. Rather than talking about how popular they are, how great they are. He's doing it because he sees a huge need and it's not being filled by anybody. Of all the people running, he seems to be the one who could solve the problems. I think he'll be a great president.

MSNBC 's Chris Hayes put it best:

This endorsement could be a bit more ringing, but hopefully it will prove to be the tide-turner that, you know, finally convinces Jeb's dad to get off the fence.

This has been the Jeb! Comeback Watch for Jan. 22, 2016. Jeb Bush is currently in fifth place in Iowa (4.6 percent), sixth place in New Hampshire (8.2 percent) and fifth place nationally (5.7 percent).