Posted on 12/10/2006 9:01:34 PM PST by NapkinUser
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he is "not ruling in or out" running for president or vice president in 2008.
"I don't know what the future holds for me," Bush told NewsMax as he leaves office this month after eight years as governor.
"To be honest with you, the only job in public life that I've been interested in over the last 15 years has been to be governor. It's been my dream come true. I guess it's hard for people to appreciate, but I've never viewed it as a stepping stone to anything else."
Bush said he would feel comfortable with Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, or John McCain as president.
"I like Romney, but I'd also be comforted at night knowing that Rudy Giuliani was leading our nation in a time of war, and John McCain — all three of them," Bush said.
"Being president, your ideology is important, but your character matters a lot, too.
"One of the descriptors of being president that I think is one of the most important, frankly, is, can a father tell a daughter or a son about the president, ‘If you work hard and you play by the rules and you strive for greatness, you can be just like him,' warts and all? Because we're all imperfect under God's watchful eye, and in politics the imperfections are what everybody focuses on. I think they're all three admirable men."
Bush said he tries to tune out what's going on in Washington because the discourse has become so rancorous.
"The president tried mightily to get the Social Security reforms in place, but everybody was looking at the next election," Bush said.
"We have problems with Medicare, and the cost associated with that. We have too much litigation in our country. That puts a burden on our businesses that no other country has. Our capital markets now are becoming anti-competitive because of over-regulation. We're not training the next generation work force in a way that allows them to be competitive, and jobs will go elsewhere.
"And yet, if you watch what happens in Washington, one would get the impression that all is so good that there is no need to focus on the big stuff."
Despite facing the "profoundly important issues related to whether our freedoms are going to be protected against people who hate them and hate us, and whether we're going to remain competitive globally," the discussion in Washington is "puny and juvenile and bitter," Bush said.
Because of term limits, Bush could not run for governor again. He enjoys a 65 percent approval rating in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans.
The Education Governor
Helped by a sympathetic Florida Legislature, he has moved to assert more control over the budget process, judicial appointments, and the state's public universities, where he abolished race and gender preferences for admission.
Instead, those who graduate in the top 20 percent of each high school class are guaranteed admission to public universities.
Bush said he is proud that he has been an activist governor and was able to introduce accountability to the schools, raising standards and test scores even before the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. A big component of that was reintroducing phonics or sounding out letters to reading instruction.
Bush said that every public school in the state now teaches kids exactly how the letters of the alphabet are pronounced, as opposed to the whole language approach introduced decades ago by liberal educators, where kids are not taught to sound out letters. Instead, they are given books in hopes that they will get excited about them and figure out how to read on their own.
Despite the intent of the No Child Left Behind Act, more than half the public schools in the country still do not teach phonics. Roughly 40 percent of fourth graders cannot read a simple children's book.
Bush cited dramatic results after phonics instruction was reintroduced in Florida.
"We went from being second to last among the states in fourth grade and eighth grade reading to being above the national average in reading for fourth grade, and we're at the national average in eighth grade," Bush said.
"Florida is one of the few states where the achievement gap based on race and poverty is narrowing in reading and in math. We have seen these gains because there's pressure in the system now. The entrenched nature of the system prior to my arrival was a real challenge to change."
Bush said that while conservatives are rightly concerned about government spending, spending on education should be viewed as an investment.
"Our standard of living will erode, and we won't be competitive, if we can't remain the place where there's the greatest amount of innovation, where's there's the greatest amount of enhancements to productivity, where we apply math and science in a way that enhances our quality of life and grows income," he said.
"Being able to read and calculate math and to understand why history is important and have some knowledge of science is really, really important."
Departs With Fla. Economy Booming
Bush is also proud of having cut taxes every year "to the tune of $19.5 billion over eight years," he said.
"I'm proud that our bond rating has gone from AA to AAA – the only state to have done that. A year ago, we had $8 billion of reserves, in spite of eight hurricanes in two years. Because government, at the state level at least, isn't growing faster than people's ability to pay for it."
In addition, Bush said, "We lead the nation in job growth. Every month for the last four years we've been consistently, on a year-to-year basis at least, number one. The unemployment rate as of November was 3.1 percent. The economy is strong, and we're expanding into exciting sectors of the economy that will create higher-wage jobs as well."
Bush said he thinks Republican Charlie Crist bucked the national trend and won the governorship of Florida last month in part because "people thought that Florida was on the right track, so we were a little inoculated from the gloomy political atmosphere nationally.
"Charlie is a ferocious campaigner, a likable person, he connects really well with people, and he ran a very fine campaign against a good person but an uninspired candidate," referring to Jim Davis.
Republicans lost the House and Senate in the last election because of "deep disappointment [with] Congress," Bush said.
The issue of corruption and the "abandonment of some very important conservative principles as it relates to fiscal policy were part of it," Bush said.
"I spent eight years trying to explain to members of the legislature that earmarks were really not the proper way to implement public policy. And we certainly had our battles regarding that, but I have the power of the line-item veto here, so I got to express my opinions a little more forcefully, perhaps, than the president could."
When Republicans became more prolific in using earmarks than Democrats, "something's wrong," Bush said, referring to a way of funding pork barrel projects through specific line items in appropriation bills, as opposed to allowing agencies to determine where funds are spent.
"We're the party of fiscal restraint, and yet it didn't appear that way for a lot of people. And then the war is something. It's tough. Thank God, the president has been resolute, because it's not a popular war. And being popular is not what he cares about. For a short-term situation as it relates to an election, the war probably had an impact as well."
Terri Schiavo and Values
Bush said one of his disappointments is the death of Terri Schiavo.
"Put aside the politics, which everybody has their own views of . . . the woman [who] was starved to death," Bush said. "That's not something I'm very comfortable with.
"We did our best, we did what we could within the law to save her life. But it was for naught in the end. And we never could change the law that allowed such an occurrence to take place. Seems to me that she should have had a living will, and if it's an oral understanding, that we should err on the side of life. And in our state, that's not the case by the statutes that we have, which is a disappointment."
For Bush, the Schiavo case raised issues about values. Bush sees the war on terror and restoring values as the country's greatest challenges.
"How do we sustain a long-term fight against the jihadists, especially in a free society that's used to immediate gratification?" he said.
"And how do we recognize the importance of wholesome family life, virtues that are timeless, that really have been the linchpin of our country?
"Our strength really hasn't resided in how great our government is, it's the ability to govern ourselves. In the last couple of generations, we have placed huge demands on government. We need to have a conversation about that."
In the meantime, "I don't know what's going to happen to me next," Bush said. "I wouldn't rule it [running for president] out or in. It's not even on my radar." Nor is running for vice president.
"I'm kind of excited about not knowing, to be honest with you, just because it's the first time in a long time in my life where I don't know what I'm going to do.
"In all honesty, I'm looking forward to what the future holds, but I just don't know what it will be."
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Fool me a third time, ain't gonna happen.
Bush---just say no.
I like Jeb.. but this would be political suicide for the Republican Party!
Not that I give a damn about the Republican Party at this point!
I'd rather not set the precedent for presidential dynasties. There are millions of other competent people from which to choose.
I'd vote for Jeb.
Please do, Jeb. You haven't got a shot in Hades.
I agree --- let's NOT have another Clinton in the White House.
From DU?
No effing way. They had their chance.
I would, Too. As far as I've seen, Jeb has been a good governor for the State of Florida. It helps also when a hurricane is imminent, the people there do listen and get out of Dodge when told to do so.
OH please GOD NO Jeb sit out 2008 now the future honey you could run
I love the Bush family, but I've had my fill of blubbering about how great the illegal aliens are, and Jeb piles it on twice as high as W. and Rove do.
I won't vote for him.
JOHN BOLTON FOR PRESIDENT 2008!!!!!
Jeb Bush is a good leader and governor, he is a star candidate for the Presidency. But his last name could be a obstacle and so maybe he should run in 2012(if a Dem wins in 2008) or 2016 elections.
Jeb would be an acceptable candidate for President. However the MSM political Quarterback players draft has not even given Jeb honorable mention.
The MSM seems to favor RINO's in their political players draft, behind Hillobama of course.
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