( CNN ) -- For all of our post-2012 election talk about the changing culture , the changing demographics and , perhaps , a changing party , preliminary thoughts out of D.C. about the 2016 election have us headed toward not much change at all : Clinton vs Bush ... again . I am as intrigued by the prospects of these two juggernauts , Jeb and Hillary , locking ideological horns as I am repulsed by the thought of half of my life being dominated by two family names . One , Clinton , has risen from the ashes after the White House . The other name , Bush , is so toxic that the past two Republican nominees avoided saying it in public , opting instead to skip their combined 12 years in office and head straight back to Reagan . Face it , Hillary has baggage , but Jeb has Bush , and that , moreso than his record as governor of Florida or ideas for the future , will determine , at least at the beginning , how he is received . That explains why more than a few conservatives were not thrilled to hear that he was thinking of running . Is it fair for a 59-year-old man to be judged by the actions , or inaction , of his father and brother ? Of course not . And we certainly would n't judge Hillary solely based on our opinion of Bill . Yet , as we know , politics is a lot of things but fair is not one of them . I can already see some super PAC funded by -- oh , that 's right , they do n't have to tell us -- creating ads morphing George H.W . Bush into George W. Bush and then Jeb Bush , with a Michael Moore voiceover saying , `` same name , same failed policies . '' Politics : Jeb Bush Jr. hopes dad will run for president . That would be great for Clinton , or whoever eventually claims the Democratic nomination , but not necessarily good for the country . It 's not a good thing for the country when voters are robbed of the opportunity to hear smart ideas for superficial reasons . Like Howard Dean 's infamous yelp or Jon Huntsman 's quiet demeanor . And in my book , discounting the idea of a candidate because of his brother 's shortcomings is superficial . If someone does n't like Jeb Bush , let it be because of the record of Jeb , not because of the record of everyone in the White House named Bush . There are things I like about Jeb and things I do n't , but both are based upon what he has done . And if we want an election based upon substance instead of that GOP primary circus we had in 2011 , that is how we need to judge both Clinton and Bush . Assuming , of course , it is Clinton and Bush . The speculation is here , but the reality is years away , and a lot can happen . Politics : Behind the scenes of Clinton 's `` shuttle diplomacy '' Jeb may not find the conservative support he needs because many view him as a RINO ( Republican in name only ) while Hillary says she 's tired . ( And I 'm sure she is ... tired of not being president . ) We heard a lot of talk about change after this year 's election . The biggest change that 's needed is a move away from hyperbolic reactions to inconsequential events . In August 1988 , Jeb 's father , in a brief meeting with President Reagan , introduced three of his grandchildren to the Gipper this way : `` These are Jebby 's kids from Florida , the little brown ones . '' Call me crazy , but I doubt at any point in Jeb 's life would he introduce his children to anyone as `` the little brown ones . '' This is n't to paint the father as anything scandalous but to make the point that Jeb is his own person , with his own thoughts and own ideas . Earlier this year , Jeb Bush spoke his own mind , calling the rhetoric during the Republican primary disturbing and saying that his party was behaving stupidly with regard to Latino voters . I do n't recall his brother or dad being that bold in criticizing his own party . Jeb deserves to be credited , or discredited , on his own merit , not on the record of the men who served as president before him . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson .
LZ Granderson : For all the talk of change , 2016 may be another Bush-Clinton race . Bush name carries negatives ; so toxic that McCain and Romney avoided it , he says . LZ : I think you're right about Obama being a more polarizing figure than his predecessor. Bush , George W. Bush . He says we should examine the potential candidates on their merits , not family names .