It would appear that Jeb Bush, who not long ago declared “I’m not going to take off my stinking glasses,” and “I think I look pretty damn good [in glasses],” has suddenly changed positions.
In an interview with several ABC reporters, the New York Times reports that the GOP candidate tried to make light of the issue:
“Ashley, how are you doing?” he said at the start of his news conference on Tuesday, turning to an ABC reporter, Candace Smith.
There were bemused smiles, but mostly silent stares.
“I’m not wearing my contacts, so-—,“ he said, as another reporter, Ashley Killough of CNN, looked on. “I’m joking.”
At least one person chuckled.
Ms. Smith is petite and black; Ms. Killough is tall and white.
Bush clarified that he was, indeed, wearing contacts.
To better understand Jeb Bush’s decision to softly sheath his tiny glasses for (perhaps) the last time, let’s take a quick look back at the former Florida governor’s complex and ever-shifting relationship with sight, comfort, vanity, masculinity, aging, and framed-versus-frameless lenses.