by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 19, 2015
All Rights Reserved.

             Walking a tightrope, 61-year-old former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tried to distance himself from his father, George H.W. Bush and his brother, George W. Bush, whose presidencies left both with some of the lowest approval ratings in modern history.  Jeb’s handlers know that if he has any shot of running a successful campaign he has to distance himself from his brother “W” that left the economy in shambles and the country embroiled in two Mideast wars.  “I love my father and brother.  I admire their service to the nation and the difficult decisions they had to make,” said Jeb, trying establish his own identity.  With little or no foreign policy experience, Jeb has to convince skeptical members in his own party that he’s ready for prime-time.  Out of politics since leaving Tallahassee Jan. 2, 2007, Jeb has a lot of convincing to do that he’s ready to step into the  Oval Office.

             Jeb walks a fine line criticizing his father or brother, especially “W” whose ill-advised Iraq War destabilized the Middle East, flooding Iraq and Syria with terrorists, causing much of today’s upheaval.  Jeb knows that his brother went incognito since leaving office Jan. 20, 2009 with the lowest approval ratings in presidential record-keeping.  “But I am my own man—and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experience,” said Jeb, stopping well-short of criticizing either Bush 41 or 43. “Each president learns from those who came before—their principles, their adjustments.  One thing we know is this:  Every president inherits a changing world and changing circumstances,” said Bush, not talking about the mess President Obama inherited from his brother, Geroge.    Jeb talks in the vaguest platitudes about the utter mess “W” left the economy and foreign affairs.

             “W’s” decision to go to war March 20, 2003 and topple Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003, created the pervasive foreign policy disaster currently playing out in the Middle East.  “W” and his Vice President Dick Cheney's plan to “democratize” the Middle East by upending Saddam’s authoritarian regime backfired.  Despite warnings from elders in former George H.W. Bush’s administration about creating a dangerous power vacuum, “W” went full steam ahead unleashing the biggest terrorist nightmare in Mideast history.  Today’s Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, that has seized some 30% of Iraq and Syria, are comprised of Saddam’s former Revolutionary Guards.  Bush talks about changing “circumstances” but won’t acknowledge the mess his brother created, instead dancing around his brother’s abysmal track record.  Without the Iraq War, the Mideast would be far more stable.

             Criticizing Obama for conducting an ambiguous foreign policy, Jeb points to a more decisive action under his leadership.  “The president’s word needs to be backed by greater military power in the world,” said Jeb, criticizing Barack for his reluctance to commit U.S. forces abroad.  “The president should call on leaders of both parties to fix the budget and address shortfalls in defense spending,” insisted Jeb, forgetting that the federal budget deficit has dropped from $1.4 trillion to under $450 billion under Obama’s economic polices.  Under “W’s” economy, the nation plunged into the worst recession since the Great Depression, losing 200,000 jobs a month, eventually losing 8 million private sector jobs.  Like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who lost to Obama in 2012 , Jeb doesn’t acknowledge any of the economic gains verified by recognized Labor and Commerce Dept. metrics.

             Bush wants a strong military but doesn’t admit the defense budget was slashed in the so-called 2011 sequester by House and Senate Republicans.  “The transformation of our economy will also send a powerful message about the American system:  Free people, free markets, free ideas . . . implemented faithfully . . . will set a powerful example of what’s possible to the rest of the world,” said Jeb, pretending the economy failed under Obama.  Both former Bush presidents sent an otherwise thriving economy into punishing recessions.  Bush’s public remarks bewildered the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in, offering little insight into his domestic or foreign policy.  Taking veiled shots at Obama doesn’t articulate his own domestic and foreign policy vision only makes voters nervous about how things would pan out.  Jeb offered only vague platitudes to his eagerly-awaiting audience.

             Throwing his audience some red meat, Bush told the right-leaning Chicago Council on Global Affairs that Obama has tarnished U.S. foreign policy.  “Under the administration, we are inconsistent and indecisive.  We have lost the trust and the confidence our friends.  We definitely no longer inspire fear in our enemies,” said Bush, implying that “W’s” foreign policy inspired confidence.  “W” once had the bravado to say, “bring it on” when it came to engaging the Taliban in Afghanistan.  If Jeb thinks his brother’s foreign policy was less “inconsistent and indecisive,” then it implies he’d be just as misguided as Bush-43.  Whatever Obama’s shortcomings, they pale in comparison to former President George W. Bush.  Whatever problems exist in the Mideast, they’re fallout from “W’s” Iraq War.  As far as the economy goes, Jeb needs a urgent history lesion to sound coherent.

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