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Jeb Bush says GOP lost elections on tactics

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By WILLIAM MARCH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2009

In an interview with Esquire Magazine, published today, former Gov. Jeb Bush, who's viewed by some Republicans as an important hope for the future of the party, discounts the possibility that he'll seek national office any time soon.

But he also vows to remain part of the effort of restoring the party.

Bush says the reason for the Republican Party's losses in the last two elections were not because the party espoused the wrong ideas, but because, "We didn't advocate our positions well enough to win" and failed to modernize its message.

He says the GOP lost on tactics -- "In terms of the mechanics of politics … the Democrats have cleaned our clock."

But, he adds, "There hasn't been any kind of restatement of the organizing principles of our philosophy. … We haven't upgraded our message. We haven't updated it. If you close your eyes and listen to most Republicans, most conservatives, the same speech could have been given in 1990."

At other points in the interview, done by Tucker Carlson, Bush blasts President Barack Obama, whom he's previously spoken of positively.

Asked why Obama is popular, Bush replies, "First of all, who cares?" and then contends – inaccurately – that his brother was more popular early in his term as president than Obama is.

Asked about his own political future, Bush replied, "I don't organize my life around political ambition. … Frankly I don't wake up each day assuming I'm the solution to life's problems."

He said other party leaders, many of them now unknowns, will be emerging, and, "I am content to be part of the larger effort that creates the fertile ground for those candidates to run."

"I'm going to be involved as best I can" in rebuilding the party, he adds.

But Bush says his current goal is "to achieve some degree of financial security for my family," and, "When you're talking about running for something, it requires an all-in commitment, and I don't have the luxury of doing that right now."

The last personal financial statement Bush filed as governor showed he had a net worth of $1.4 million in 2005.

In other points in the interview, Bush says:

•That he's skeptical about global warming. "It may be only partially man-made. It may not be warming by the way. The last six years we've actually had mean temperatures that are cooler. I think we need to be very cautious before we dramatically alter who we are as a nation because of it."

According to NASA, 2008 was the coolest year since 2000, but 2007 was tied for second-warmest ever measured, 2006 the fifth-warmest, 2005 tied for warmest and 2004 fourth-warmest.

•That the party should stick to its positions against abortion rights and gay marriage. "Those are important issues to not shy away from. And I don't think that's the reason why suburban voters have migrated to the Democrats. I think it's the economic issues.

•The Republican Party faces a grim future unless it learns to appeal to Hispanic voters. He points out that he and his brother, former President George W. Bush, both got substantial Hispanic votes, unlike most Republicans in the last two election cycles.

•That Rush Limbaugh is "a hugely important force for the conservative movement … I feel happy for Rush to get all this attention. He's one part of a mosaic of people and thought in the conservative movement. I don't think you can discount his importance."

•Asked to name the leaders of the Republican Party, Bush included St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker in a list along with Newt Gingrich, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. He didn't include two of the three people considered GOP 2012 presidential frontrunners – Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney.

Bush said in a Los Angeles Times interview in January that he was impressed with Obama's appointments, and called Obama "smart, disciplined, not rash."

The tone of this interview was different. Bush suggested, for example, that Obama came into office with a "secret plan" to drastically expand government and the national debt.

"Obama would not have gotten elected if he'd let us in on his secret plan prior to the election. He would not have gotten elected if he'd said, 'My idea is to create a $1.8 trillion deficit for the next fiscal year.' "

To Florida political insiders, that language is reminiscent of a comment Bush made about himself during his 2002 re-election campaign.

Referring to the constitutional amendment on public school class sizes, which he opposed, Bush told a crowd at a campaign event – apparently not realizing there was a reporter in the room -- that he had a "devious plan" to deal with the issue.

"His popularity is no greater — in fact it's less — than what my brother's was during the beginning of his tenure, in a time of unbelievable friction, if you think about it, because of the 2000 election," Bush says of Obama. "His approval ratings were higher than Barack Obama's during his first 100 days."

According to PollingReport.com, polls done by the Pew Research Center, Gallup and others showed Bush's approval ratings mostly in the 50s, occasionally breaking 60 percent, through the first eight months of his term, then spiking to nearly 80 percent after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Obama, by comparison, had approval ratings consistently in the 60s for the first few months after taking office, dipping into the 50s now in some polls.

The interview is in the August issue of Esquire, on newsstands July 13. You can read the interview at http://www.esquire.com/features/jeb-bush-interview....

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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