Indian American Journalist Warns of Possible Jeb Bush '08 Run

[seafan]

Indian American Journalist Warns of Possible Jeb Bush '08 Run

By LISA TSERING
June 15, 2007

How does the thought of another Bush in the White House strike you?
If you're journalist Shirish V. Date, you are very, very worried.
Date, the author of "Jeb: America's Next Bush" (Tarcher, 2007) and a reporter for the Palm Beach Post, has been tracking the career of President George W. Bush's younger brother since Jeb Bush was first elected governor of Florida in 1998. He is now convinced that Jeb Bush has secret plans to run for president or vice president in 2008.

Although Bush has made no public announcement, Bush has been friendly with Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, who has name-dropped Jeb as a possible running mate.

If Jeb does decide to run, the muckraking Date will be nipping at his heels.

.....

"I know Jeb. I know how he thinks. And what he thinks is that an independent, unauthorized biography of his Florida tenure written by the guy who had become the biggest journalistic thorn in his side cannot possibly be a good thing, particularly when, sooner or later, he runs for president."

.....

During his years covering Bush and his activities during his two terms as Florida's governor, Date took the time to delve deep into tens of thousands of pages of government documents, thousands of emails to and from Jeb and his top aides, and many complex government databases to amass the information he now has on Bush, writing over 800 articles about him for the Palm Beach Post.

Jeb Bush is widely regarded as much smarter and more ambitious than his older brother, explains Date.

"Jeb's never going to get bored. He's relentless. That's the singular difference between him and his brother," Date told India-West recently by phone from Florida. For George Bush, the journey itself, and being named president, was its own reward. But Jeb wants to be president not just for the title, but for the opportunity to influence public policy with his highly conservative agenda.
"George wanted to be president: that was his singular desire. But Jeb would come in knowing exactly what he'd want to do, and would not stop," said Date.

Jeb genuinely feels he is meant to be president one day, and sees every step in his career as heading inexorably in that direction.

.....

Answering a reporter's question on the likelihood of Jeb considering running for the mere vice-presidency, Date explained that it was a stepping stone that couldn't be overlooked. "The vice presidency may be his most likely path, because he gets to introduce himself to the American people as non-threatening. The Republicans do this very cynically - if he loses a bid as VP now, then he'll be the number one guy in 2012," said Date, recalling Jeb's father, George H.W. Bush, and his vice presidency under Ronald Reagan and subsequent successful presidential campaign.

.....

It's when Jeb is unusually quiet, that we should be paying attention.

And with Jeb's apprentice, Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, just ramming through the Legislature an egregious, secretly hashed-out plan to deliver the largest tax cut in Florida's history that steals money from public services such as police, firefighters, teachers, water management, public libraries and parks, this is a lot of noisy cover for what Jeb is doing in the background.


Mr. Date, don't take your eye off of Jeb Bush for a nanosecond. Scrutiny is the one thing he cannot escape. And since Jeb Bush thinks he was bred to rule, it will be the only way to stop his march to the White House.

[tom_paine]

1. If Jeb runs as VP, Mitt or Ghouli better watch out for "lone gunmen"

You think Jeb'll run another Hinckley at Mitt or Ghouli? I wouldn't rule it out...not even close.

Remember, if a "lone gunman" whacks Resident Mitt or Ghouli early on (like a "lone gunmen, friend of the Bush Family" tried to do to Reagan in 1981, coincidentally enough), then Emperor Jeb gets 10 or 11 years on the throne instead of just 8 years.

But I have my doubts that Jeb and the Royal Bushies would dare to run him, then have to steal twice the votes they will to get Mitt or Ghouli in office without a Royal Bushie dragging the ticket down.

Remember, 2/3rds of the nation actively dislikes the Royal Bushies now.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. What if...

Fred Thompson picks Jeb for VP? It would put the Bush Empire's money behind Freddy's campaign. Then suppose Freddy wins and the cancer takes him out in a few months time...Hello New World Order and remember Jeb is a card carrying member of the PNAC.

[renate]

2. I sure would like to think that the name Bush = Poison

He'd pretty much have to come out and say "I'll do a better job than my brother. Don't blame me for his screw-ups." The Bush family seem extremely loyal to each other so he might not be able to do that.

However, this may be a special case because Jeb was supposed to win Florida in 1994 and then use the governorship as a springboard to the presidency. But W got there first, and since it is, after all, the divine right of the Bush family to have one of its own in the White House regardless of competency, W got Jeb's place in line. So there may be some bitterness there.

[blondeatlast]

3. Imagine the logical and rhetorical acrobatics he'll get into separating himself

from Brother Dubya.

It might be rather entertaining, actually.

[madison]

4. NEVER another Bush.

NEVER another Bush.

NEVER another Bush.

NEVER another Bush.

NEVER another Bush.

NEVER another Bush.

NEVER another Bush.

[monmouth]

5. If Romney were to secure the nomination and choose Jeb as a running mate

he would lose big time. I'm in Florida, even the Repubs down here are having second thoughts on the RW slate. They love Fred....

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Bring it on!

What a disaster that would be for the GOP.

[Gabi Hayes]

8. amen to the group of men so crooked they screw their pants on in the morning.

I can't WAIT to see the likes of Jeb, Rudy, Fred, McCain, and Romney start going after each other hammer and tong. Toss Newt in there for good measure, you know he lusts for it baldly, nakedly.

So far the media have allowed the pugs to play pitty pat with each other, Giuliani remaining above the fray like some sainted elder, not even participating in the groundfire. Are they going to allow this to continue until it comes down to just Fred and Rudy, or will the unlikely entry of Bush really stir things up.

Bush is SO lousy crooked, and, as usual with the BFEE, SO undercovered by the media WRT his vile connections to organized crime/contras/dirty banking-money laundering, that, like his less capable elder brother only ONE of the stories about him, if properly exposed, should have landed him in JAIL.

take the Miguel REcarey/Armando Codina/Camilo Padrera connections, which involved sleazy realestate deals bad bank loans and the largest HMO fraud in history at the time, with Recarey being charged with stealing over 12 million (that figure probably a lowball, designed to make it seem not as bad as it actually is). Recarey skipped the country, and at the time of the article, the US was making feeble attempts to extradite him from Venezuela. this was twenty years ago, and I dunno what's been happening since.

scroll down halfway on this article for details on these three. lots of disGUSTING information. this has been posted, but it's the sort of reporting that everybody knows about, but DOES nothing about. you'll see what I mean, because the segment preceding Jeb is Dumbo's little Harken SEC dealing

I have the actual magazine sitting on a ledge, and every so often see the cover, with 43, 41, and the dauphin on the cover. very unsettling
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1992/09/bushboys.html

[saltpoint]

7. We have no crystal ball here at the house but there are

a TON of folks coast-to-coast who are real sick of the name Bush.

Republicans are not with this family anymore. It was never a hot love match to begin with. Poppy was unstable, petty, intellectually marginal, and annoyingly unlikeable. Dubya's a disaster, start to finish, and that was before the recent uprising on the Right over immigration. Iraq doesn't seem to be shaping up quite as well as hoped in the early going. Jeb's replacement in Florida is actually more popular than Jeb, and in some narrow ways, more moderate.

While there might be an 08 Jeb Bush bid, we're betting our lunch money that he stays out.

[seafan]

13. Nice to see you, Old Crusoe. What is unsettling about Jeb is

that his ambition supersedes what any of *The People* may think about the Bush royal family.

You see, in Jeb's mind, he doesn't need the lowly voters to seize the Oval Office. He sees all of us as just ants in his path to his own carnal ambition.

The Bush knaves will just take the White House. Or, more precisely, they will not relinquish control of it. They think no one is capable of stopping their juggernaut, certainly not the common citizenry like all of us. Royalty trumps it all, in Jeb's mind. He's got it pasted into his mind that he is a king without a castle just now.



Right now he is carefully calculating how much of a threat Governor Crist will be, and if Crist is chosen as a VP candidate for 2008, Jeb is f*#^"d. If Jeb twists some arms to muscle his way onto the ticket as VP for 2008, he will head Crist off at the pass.

All of this is to assume, however, that Crist is interested in higher office. If Crist stays on as Governor of Florida, and Jeb waits till 2012 to make his run, Crist will be in the cat bird seat ahead of him, because he is much more moderate and popular than Jeb ever was, and Crist will have a track record and name recognition as the un-Jeb.


In either scenario, time is not on Jeb's side.

1. If he pushes his way onto the 2008 ticket as VP, the voters' revulsion factor will be very strong.

2. If he waits to run for the WH in 2012, he risks losing to a more moderate, popular candidate in the form of Charlie Crist.


Personally, I think Jeb will go for broke and force his way onto the 2008 ticket as VP. And when and if that comes to pass, it will be Katie bar the door.



For a preview of the damage he will do to our country if he slithers into the White House, just look at the wreckage he's left in Florida.

To put it starkly, we've seen him operate in Tallahassee for eight miserable, back-biting, dictatorial years. The poisonous sting of many of his policies will take years to reverse in Florida.




As surely as the sun rises in the east, this is one individual we don't want anywhere NEAR our White House.

[saltpoint]

17. Strongly agree that Jeb Bush should not be let anyplace near the

White House, including the vice presidential nomination of his party.

Crist is formidable in part because he's not Jeb and in part because he seems fairly able at bipartisanspeak. Jeb is popular among the very conservatives in other states, although the current GOP field doesn't have a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who's also electable. Brownback mostly fills the bill on issues, and maybe Huckabee, but Romney, Giuliani, and McCain are all weakened by their moderation. Which is not all that moderate to us, but frighteningly liberal in the minds of the Far Right. If indeed the Far Right have minds.

Love your analysis of the view from Florida of Jeb's time as governor and repeat my agreement with you that this is one guy whose ambition far exceeds his impulse for public service, making him a terrible option for the top job.

[HughBeaumont]

9. PFFFFFFT.

Let 'em. The Bewsh name is a stain. America isn't THAT tolerant of royalty that they'd let THREE Failure Fuhrers occupy high office, especially since the first two failed this country so badly and one of them will have the legacy of nearly destroying it.

[HughBeaumont]

10. If by some act of stupidity it SHOULD happen - this should be our sign:

[Solly Mack]

12. All things considered, I can see it happening - one day

America likes to think it remembers the past but let a few years go by and that remembering gets downright hazy with all kinds of neat little rationalizations issuing forth.

JEB will have to wait until at least 2012.

George P. will be the next Bush to enter politics with an eye toward the Presidency. (after his elders)

[cooolandrew]

14. ....

[Blackhatjack]

15. Facts; 38% Repubs like their present choices, Fundies will support Jeb, Repubs lose w/o Fundies...

Ironically as the polls show the Democrats becoming stronger and the Republican candidates losing in head to head matchups, this puts Jeb ever closer to entering the race as either Pres or VP candidate.

Hillary would be their dream opponent, and Jeb their candidate, which together would have the best chance to motivate their base to get out and vote in the General Election.

I trust Jeb even less than George. He is smarter, and more ruthless.

We might be wishing for the good old days when 'clueless George' was President if Jeb enters and wins.

[L. Coyote]

16. Cheney will be the 2008 Freeper. Jeb is too busy at Tenet, the billions bilker.

[uppityperson]

18. Jeb's waiting until 2012 to run