Pre-warning: This is absolutely one of the worst, cringe-inducing moments I've ever seen, and I've paid attention to politics for years.

Recently, while campaigning in New Hampshire leading up to the primaries, Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) had to ask an audience to clap for him after remarks regarding the type of leader he'd be as the nation's Commander-in-Chief.

It's absolutely as bad as it sounds:

Before the current standing of candidates was established, with Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) at the top of the Republican docket, there was a possibility of seeing a general-election rematch of Bush v Clinton, with Jeb and Hillary continuing the political dual represented in the past by both Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, and, of course, President Bill Clinton. Instead, it seems as though Jeb is having issues getting people at his own rallies to cheer for him, much less taking hold of the national stage to make a serious run at the presidency.

Really, even if Jeb Bush weren't a member of one of the most recognizable American political dynasties in history, the footage is extremely sad. The audience members are disinterested at best, and even, as one comment on YouTube noted, "even the closed captioning says 'reluctant applause.'" While speculation as to why Governor Bush's remarks were in need of such pathetic urging to garner even the simplest of recognition from his own supporters runs the gamut of his family's past reputation, to the fact he's currently fifth in the national race for the nomination of the Republican party, the fact nobody in the audience showed even a little outward approval for what he said in that oh-so-long burst of ridiculous awkward silence has to hurt no matter what the cause.

I'd say that this takes the prize for the most awkward moment of the presidential election cycle so far, but we still have a long way to go before the circus ends and our new President is inaugurated, and if we've learned one thing from watching the race so far, moments like the one experienced by Governor Bush prove anything is possible!