Jeb Bush: No opinion on Rubio; Obama too far to the left

A handful of reporters caught up with former Gov. Jeb Bush after his appearance at the Capitol this morning with Gov. Charlie Crist to tout a new education initiative.

Reporters rarely run into the former governor here in Tallahassee, so here are some of the thoughts he shared on the walk over to the Governor's Club (he left the morning presser early). After telling the reporters that "I don't feel compelled to have an opinion on everything," he agreed to answer a few questions ....

Q: Opinion on the Senate race between Crist and Marco Rubio?

A: "I don't know ... I don't know if I'm going to have a public opinion."

Q: So you might endorse someone?

A: "I don't know. I haven't thought about it too much. It's way too early."

Q: Comments on the changing leadership at the state Republican Party?

A: "I'm happy that there's going to be new leadership ... I think it's important to have a Republican party that's focused on the blocking and tackling, and the voter registration, the efforts to recruit candidates, and not be consumed with all sorts of other things. So I'm happy that we're going to get a new start. I'm a big fan of John Thrasher's; I think he'll do a good job."

Q: On your legacy, and the economy-when you used to present your budget, you always cited Florida's prospering economy as evidence that your fiscal policies were good. When you left, the economy slid downhill. So were you taking credit for things beyond your control, or-

A: "I didn't take credit for the economy. I said our fiscal policy helped the state. And I also believe that a good fiscal policy, over the long haul, matters. Look at the fiscal challenges that California faces today, with huge deficits as far as the eye can see, structural problems where people actually think that California is ungovernable-and compare that to the situation here in Florida. One would have to conclude that conservative fiscal policy matters."

Q: Your review of President Obama first year in office?

A: "I'd say it was a pretty rocky year. He came in with a lot of hope of being, certainly, a transformational candidate, but he has not been a transformational president. He's governed from the left, and I think a growing number of Americans are concerned about that. They want center-left or center-right policies to be implemented. They don't want the extremes."

Bush gave Obama a thumbs' up on education reform, and said his foreign policy was largely a "work-in-progress" that people should give the benefit of the doubt. Asked about health care reform and the proposed expansion of Medicaid, however, Bush blasted the bills pending in Congress: "It's a huge problem. And the answer isn't to do a corn-husker kick-back for every state to clean up after their mess."