A few weeks ago, The New York Times Magazine drew criticism for a poll in which it asked readers whether they would be willing to kill an infant Adolf Hitler, thereby preventing Word War II (maybe). And what’s the best way for a struggling presidential candidate to get attention? Answering that question with an excited “Hell yeah!” (Or, ultimately, answering that question at all.)

It’s possible that Jeb Bush, publicly struggling with a campaign identity crisis, wasn’t really thinking when he was asked that question by the Huffington Post, but perhaps responding with an enthusiastic “Hell yeah!” wasn’t the best way to grapple with a serious moral quandary.

“You gotta step up, man,” he added, though he conceded that it could have a “dangerous effect” in the future, like in those Michael J. Fox movies about someone going back to the future. (Yeah, Jeb! just lost additional Cool Points for not knowing the name of the series.)

For the record: in the poll, 42 percent said yes, 30 percent said no, and 28 percent were honest enough to admit that they were caught in a moral dilemma by saying “not sure.”