June 1, 2015
WASHINGTON — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush acknowledged that running for president will require him to criticize his brother, former President George W. Bush, though it makes him uncomfortable.
June 1, 2015
WASHINGTON — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush acknowledged that running for president will require him to criticize his brother, former President George W. Bush, though it makes him uncomfortable.
In this photo provided by CBS News, Bob Schieffer interviews former Florida Gov.Jeb Bush in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday, May 30, 2015. Jeb Bush said Saturday that Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul is "wrong" on his efforts to end post-Sept. 11 surveillance laws used against suspected spies and terrorists. Bush, a likely GOP presidential candidate in 2016, called for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act enacted under the presidency of his brother George W. Bush. The interview was aired on the May 31, 2015 edition of “Face the Nation”
"This is hard for me, to be honest with you," Bush said in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" that was recorded Saturday and aired Sunday. "I have to do the Heisman on my brother, that I love. This is not something that I'm comfortable doing."
Bush's remark—conjoining the Heimlich maneuver with the college football Heisman Trophy—showed that he shares the family tendency toward malaprops that marked the public careers of his brother and father, former President George H.W. Bush. On a more substantive level, it showed the unease he has already demonstrated on the campaign trail with how to handle his brother's legacy.
In the interview, Bush criticized his brother for allowing federal spending to balloon during his time in the White House, a part of the Bush record that conservatives in the Republican Party have often denounced. But he suggested that other Republicans shared the blame.
Because of President Bush's focus on counterterrorism after Sept. 11, 2001, "I think he let the Republican Congress get a little out of control, in terms of the spending," Jeb Bush said.
He said his brother deserved credit for "protecting the homeland" after the terrorist attacks.
Jeb Bush has not yet announced that he is running for president, although he has been campaigning and raising money for months. Avoiding an announcement for now has allowed him to sidestep campaign finance restrictions.
But with candidate debates set to start in August, Bush said he would decide after a trip next week to Germany, Poland and Estonia.
"After that, I'll have to make up my mind," he said.
Courtesy: Tribune Washington Bureau
