Replies

from helpterri:

THIS WILL MAKE YOU SICK, BUT IT IS REALITY........

NOW YOU KNOW WHY WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM JEB. HE'S TOO BUSY FRIDAY AND
TODAY STUMPING FOR HIS BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!

AP-OnLine:

This article on Terri came across the AP wire at 2:14 p.m. EDT

10/18 02:14 pm Brother: Family Has 'glimmer of Hope' After Feeding
Ends

FOUR MINUTES LATER THIS ARTICLE CAME ACROSS THE WIRE ON JEB BUSH

10/18 02:18 pm EDT Governor Wants Florida GOP Focusing on Brother,
Not 2006

Governor Wants Florida GOP Focusing on Brother, Not 2006
The Associated Press AP-ES-10-18-03 1419EDT
Published: Oct 18, 2003

MIAMI (AP) - Gov. Jeb Bush has e-mailed GOP donors and activists
telling them to single-mindedly focus on his brother's re-election
instead of the 2006 horse race for governor.

Bush, who is in charge of his brother's re-election campaign in
Florida, acknowledged "the enormous pressure" on party loyalists to
commit early on candidates to replace him. "Our focus will have to be
on one thing and one thing only - re-electing the Bush-Cheney ticket
in whatever form that takes," Bush said in an e-mail obtained by The
Miami Herald.

"None of us would like to see a repeat of what happened to George in
2000," Jeb Bush wrote in a shorthand reference to Florida's election
meltdown.

"I believe very strongly that as Florida becomes an increasing target
for the Democrats and their national financial resources, it will
take each and every one of us to make sure that my brother has all
the financial resources he will need to win."

Geoffrey Becker, executive director of the Florida Republican Party,
and Scott Maddox, chairman of the state's Democratic Party, both said
Saturday that they see the message as an acknowledgment of a tough
fight in a tossup state next year.

It was just sort of friendly reminder that we have a big job ahead of
us," Becker said. "It's just important for everyone to keep the
attention on the race at hand."

Maddox said, "I think they know they're in trouble, and for the
governor to be willing to put it in writing is actually astounding.

"They're going to have to pull out all the stops. That's what that e-
mail is all about," he said. Bush "is right to think that he's going
to need every last dime of special interest money that he is going to
squeeze from people for the president's re-election."

Maddox and Becker also said they were puzzled by Bush's "whatever
form" remark. Becker speculated it was a reference to the form that
the re-election organization will take.

Jeb Bush cannot run again for governor under term limit rules. For
the next governor's race, he wrote, "It would mean a great deal to me
personally if you would agree not to commit to a candidate until we
can finish the 2004 presidential cycle."

Likely Republican contenders for governor include Attorney General
Charlie Crist, Florida's Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, Lt.
Gov. Toni Jennings and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Mel Martinez.