The question is not 'Why is Jeb Bush sharing the stage with President Obama?'

[seafan]

Tomorrow in Miami.



(Olivier Douliery / ABACAUSA.com / Newscom / File)
President Obama greets former Governor Jeb Bush at the 2010 Medal of Freedom ceremony on Feb. 15 at the White House. Mr. Obama and Mr. Bush plan to appear together on March 4 at an education event in Florida.


Linda Feldmann at the Christian Science Monitor writes:

March 2, 2011

.....

It’s obvious why Mr. Obama would want Bush there. He is a Republican star, albeit one who can’t run for president just yet, given lingering Bush fatigue. The presence of Jeb Bush, whose older brother George W. Bush also emphasized education during his presidency, puts a bipartisan seal of approval on Obama’s own education efforts.

But why is this a good move for Jeb Bush? He has made clear that he’s not running for office in 2012 (either president or Senate), but don’t rule out a presidential run in 2016. One of his big issues is education. During his two terms in Tallahassee, Bush fashioned himself as the “education governor,” then started the Foundation for Excellence in Education after leaving office in 2007. Its goals sound a lot like Obama’s: high expectations, data-driven accountability for teachers, outcome-based funding, helping the nation compete globally.

.....

So on Friday, don’t expect budget talk out of Bush when he’s up there with Obama, or references to the legislative standoff in Wisconsin over public unions. The Bushes are nothing if not well-mannered.

.....

Excuse me for interrupting your article, Ms. Feldmann. *'The Bushes are nothing if not well-mannered'*??????


PLEASE.


We know the Bushes. And 'well-mannered' keeps a safe distance from this crowd.


Is this a good enough example of Bush Family Manners?






Bush makes new gaffe with Queen, 7 May, 2007



Is this?



Bush's unexpected squeeze of the German chancellor has the Internet howling, July 19, 2006




Is this?

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths," Barbara Bush said on ABC's "Good Morning America" on March 18, 2003. "Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

Or this?

The President's News Conference on the Aftermath of Hurricane Andrew
August 28, 1992


....

Q. Mr. President, how do you respond to criticism that you did not act fast enough or you didn't respond to the needs -- --

The President. Well, I think the reason -- I would simply say this: First place, I'm not going to participate in the blame game, nor is Governor Chiles. What we're trying to do is help people. It doesn't do any good to go into ``who shot John.''

.....

How about this?



October 5, 2002:

(Jeb) Bush's history of politically unfortunate rhetoric goes back to 1994, when he famously answered a question on the campaign trail by saying he would do "probably nothing" for blacks if elected governor. He lost the race against incumbent Gov. Lawton Chiles...

November 13, 2003:

.....
The topic at hand was environmental land and at the time of his remark, (Jeb) Bush was looking at a map showing locations boasting a lot of different wildlife.

"It looks like the people of San Francisco are an endangered species, which may not be a bad thing," Bush said during the meeting Wednesday. "That's probably good news for the country."

When Jeb Bush speaks, people cringe, October 5, 2002



How about this?


As Obama pointed out the battered economy, massive budget deficits and the minimal oversight of oil wells over better part of the last decade:

“It’s kind of like a kid coming to school saying, ‘The dog ate my homework,’ ” (Jeb) Bush, this state’s former governor, said over lunch last week at the Biltmore Hotel. “It’s childish. This is what children do until they mature. They don’t accept responsibility.”

.....

“By and large, I think the president, instead of being a 21st-century leader, is Hubert Humphrey on steroids,” Mr. Bush said.

So stop blaming my brother!



Funny, how quickly they forget.


February 15, 2011



Back to the CSM piece:

.....

Still, you have to wonder how the still-forming field of potential Republican presidential challengers will react when one of the party’s leading lights makes nice with the “enemy” in an important swing state like Florida.

.....

Better be careful, Jeb.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AhPOD6kdyGQ/SwRLIF_CqmI/AAAAAAAAECw/-07BUBkpWzY/s1600/Crist+with+Pres+Obama.jpg



So, the question is not 'Why is Jeb Bush sharing the stage with President Obama?'

The haunting question is 'Why is President Obama sharing the stage with Jeb Bush?


Especially in the context of "education".



I hope I'm upwind of this tomorrow.

[Autumn]

1. K/R #5 Very good post.

The haunting question indeed.

[pacalo]

2. Great job of debunking the ridiculous claim about their "good manners".

And Jeb's hypocritical remark could easily inspire quite a few examples of how his brother escaped accountability:

"It’s childish. This is what children do until they mature. They don’t accept responsibility.”

What a family of devils.

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. Good question.

[catabryna]

4. Oh gawd!

The was a violent assault to my currently mellow state of mind... don't do that again, alright? lol!

[tnlefty]

5. Could you please forward this to Randi Rhodes

and Stephanie Miller who refer to their fellow talk radio hosts who critique the President's policy decisions as 'whiners'?

[RufusTFirefly]

6. Perhaps he should give Jeb a Medal of Honor like Poppy's?

Now that H.W. has one, it's clear that they're even less valuable than stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[AsahinaKimi]

7. I will never forget that scene as GW Bush walked to a

Helicopter and then stopped to spit on the ground in front of the cameras. That was an insult to the entire nation and unbecoming of a President. (Sorry..Resident in Chief.)

[somone]

8. Recommended

[Uta]

9. Obama is everyone's President,

not just the left

[sabrina 1]

13. You mean he's everyone's president BUT the left's.

That's okay, it's been an education watching a politician who did a great job during the campaign of posing as a progressive. It was a great act, many of us fell for it. But we are all better prepared now for the next time. Never again will we, eg, elect someone without asking 'who are you going to have in your cabinet'? Or 'do you think bi-partisanship trumps fighting for progressive values'?

We needed the education. We used to think that if someone had a 'D' after their name, they would not be fighting for Wall St. but would be out there fighting hard for the people who elected them. But we were wrong. I don't mind admitting when I'm wrong, just so long as we do not make the same mistake again.

As I said, it's been an education and a valuable one.

[Poll_Blind]

20. +1 Damn straight it has.

PB

[treestar]

25. No. It is only the left that demands that he not speak to

figures from the other side, or try to freeze them out or exclude them.

The right has plenty of leftist figures that it whines about the President talking to.

This is not high school. A POTUS does not "cut" people with whom he does not entirely agree. That would be childish.

[Jakes Progress]

29. There is a difference between talking and kissing ass.

You need to see what is happening. The right is not being invited to participate. They steadfastly refuse to do so. How many times would you need to be slapped in the face for asking a question before you would stop? Would you stop asking or would you start trying to anticipate what would make the slapper kiss you and tell you how great you are? The president has chosen the latter course.

This is indeed not high school. The fate of our nation is at stake and we don't need the girl who loves the bad boys and ignores the good guys who supported her election to prom queen in charge.

[Jakes Progress]

28. +1000

[L0oniX]

46. +99999999999999999999999999

[readmoreoften]

52. +1

[Umbral]

14. Obama is everyone's President,

especially the rich.

[Starry Messenger]

15. Obama is everyone's President, just not the left.

Fixed it for you. Let us know when he drops us a crumb.

[Dappleganger]

18. Kum ba ya...

here baby, have a Coke!

[QC]

31. Obama is everyone's President,

except for the people who voted for him, worked the phone banks, etc.

[polmaven]

47. I voted for him,

worked phone banks, stood with signs, walked door to door, and he is my president.

[readmoreoften]

53. Wow, then you must be a rich person into the destruction of the public sector

or you're delusional or not paying attention. Or a combination.

[polmaven]

55. Actually,

I am unemployed - almost 9 months now - and looking forward to the progress that is being made by this president to bring our economy back to viability. I understand, you see, that he is the president, not the emperor.

But if trying to insult other people on this site makes you feel important, well then, go for it, then. People who are secure in their beliefs don't insult easily.

[Lorien]

37. So you only count the upper 2% of wealth hoarders as "everyone"?

Nice to know that your portfolio has done so well for you.

[readmoreoften]

54. +1

[liberation]

42. Yes we can...

... tell you why he can't.

Over and over and over and over LOL

[madfloridian]

10. Another great seafan post!

Love it. Recommended.

[JoeyT]

11. K&R

I wish he'd stop legitimizing some of the worst people in the country.

[driver8]

34. Exactly! I wouldn't piss on Jeb Bush if he was on fire.

Or any of the rest of that greedy, evil, inbred Bush clan.

[Honeycombe8]

12. K&R (although I disagree with some of your examples)

The Bushes may not always be well-mannered, but sometimes it's an effort at being folksy or humorous, and it misses the mark. Not exactly bad manners.

[LiberalAndProud]

19. You mean like winking at the queen? Yea, folksy and humorous. And insulting.

But hey, he was just being his hayseed self.

[spanone]

16. fuck the bu$h's-- i've had a lifetime of them....i'm sick of them

[Dappleganger]

17. Obama is continuing Jeb's education policies.

Anyone who is surprised that the president is choosing to share the stage with Jebbie in FL, no less, has had their heads up their collective asses for too long.

Here's a controversial (and disgusting) editorial piece on the entire affair: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-mike-thomas-teacher-merit-pay-030320110302,0,5414052,full.column

*At what point does compromise become coitus?*

[paparush]

21. Bush Family negotiations.....

"Play nice, boy, and we'll let your little girls live."

[Bluenorthwest]

22. You left out my favorite, 41 hurling into the lap of the

Japanese Prime Minister at a State dinner in Japan. Comedy Gold.

[Octafish]

30. Bushusuru

The Japanese coined a new word for when a person throws up into their host's lap.

Here in America, they've done it to the entire American people.

[seafan]

32. Octafish, don'tcha know "It doesn't do any good to go into 'who shot John'."

One day, my friend.

One day.

[Octafish]

39. They have a name for it: ''The intervention in Dallas.''

Stopped what from happening? Peace?

Bookmarking your thread, seafan. Investigations or no, the truth is out. Thank you.

[jotsy]

23. Could it be the BFEE

think they can push him back in the door? Of course they do. The hunt for one as daffy as brother George for brother Jeb to hide behind is on. Wicked Dickey and Poppy both have illustrated how much power can be wielded from a veep's office.

I find this makes me terribly curious about current activities pertaining to the lesser known siblings. When one is on display, I think it wise to check into what the remainder might be up to that distraction and cover might be required.

Until Jebby spewed some crap about big boy pants, I carried the image of then pretensident dumbya in a Michael Moore movie, insisting the press watch him 'drive' instead of answering more stately questions, as the worst I'd ever hear of outside money trumping peace. But I hadn't heard Mama Babs, the Borg queen's comments concerning relevance and beautiful minds...that's a whole new brand of ipecac in human form.

Our self image as a nation is enduring so much damage to the lack of accountability where this particular inter generational criminal clan is concerned.

Not quite as sad as January 21, 2010, but it's sure too close for me. The guy I thought I voted for would have better sense than to be seen out hobnobbing with them.

[treestar]

24. I don't really care much about this sort of thing

It's just the reverse of the Wright/Ayers thing. The worst dirt people can dig up about Obama is speaking to or associating with someone and attributing to Obama guilt by association? Proof again there is no real dirt on the guy.

For that matter, why should Jeb be tainted because of what his brother did? Or father or mother? Judge him on his own. I see no real advantage in a POTUS acting like a high school girl who won't speak to the unpopular kids. Why DU wants the POTUS to act like this is another mystery.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[liberation]

43. At least I am glad, during these tough economic times, someone has a job to put food on their family

I am a half full kid of guy...

[Octafish]

40. Here's a bit about Jeb Bush.

10 Reasons Not to Vote for Jeb Bush in 2002

BY ROCHELLE RENFORD

Make no mistake. Americans do love their royalty. Our founding fathers may have given the finger to the royals in England, but generations later the monarchy still rules. The lack of an official king and queen has only allowed the American public to anoint several unofficial royal lines instead. As much as Americans extol the virtues of hard work, most of us probably would have preferred the silver spoon route. Work is fine, but really, wasn't leaving the womb hard enough? For some lucky sperm, the birth canal is the last tight spot they'll have to find their way out of. Like the Kennedys and the Rockefellers, the Bush clan is a monument to unearned privilege and power, but they've distinguished themselves with their capacity for denial.

Gov. Jeb Bush has said that after college, he was on his own financially and made his own way through his own hard work. So what if that "hard work" was for his father's campaign, and for corporations run by his father's friends. While working at IntrAmerica Investments, a real estate development firm owned by Bush Sr. supporter Armando Codina, Bush's salary jumped six figures in about six years. He has said his family name wasn't an advantage but spent much of his career wooing clients who wanted to get next to his family. He was cut in on investment deals, even though he didn't actually have any cash to invest, and he walked away from scandals involving attempts to defraud the U.S. government, claiming that he wasn't a fraud but a dupe. Only he knows which is true, but it's clear that if he hadn't used his family connections to do favors for his wealthy comrades, some of the scandals wouldn't have happened. When developer Hiram Martinez Jr. requested $18-million in federal loan insurance for an apartment development in 1985, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development questioned its land value and delayed the request. Rather than allow HUD to do its job, Bush wrote a letter to the U.S. agency's undersecretary on Martinez's behalf. The loan was approved, the land values were inflated and Martinez got six years in prison on fraud charges. Bush has amnesia about the letter. Later he made a call to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help another associate looking to get out of following some pesky federal rules.

Bush denies that he received special treatment in both of those incidents, but any citizen who's dealt with either agency knows that's not true. It's pretty damn special to have a top manager take your call, instead of getting a clerk who transfers your call or tells you to fill out forms.

It's his denial that makes Bush an ineffective governor. It's not possible to see why minorities would need affirmative action when you refuse to see that alumni and legacy admissions are a form of affirmative action too. It's easy to focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation when you've never had to be accountable for your own questionable dealings. Recognizing every citizen's right to vote is harder when you really believe that the only rights that count are yours.

CONTINUED AT INTERNET ARCHIVE WAYBACK MACHINE...

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20030115042404/http://www.whoseflorida.com/10_reasons_not_to_vote_for_jeb_b.htm

1. He's Not Stupid, But He Thinks Voters Are
2. Faking It as the 'Education Governor'
3. One Florida, Divisible (With Higher Education for Some)

Nice people to, eh, run with.

[Hotler]

26. kicking n/t

[russspeakeasy]

27. Maybe our prez negotiated it on his own...

he is playing 9th dimensional chess

[Myrina]

33. ... because just like Clinton figured out, Obama knows who really runs the country ...

... and it ain't WE THE PEOPLE.

[blindpig]

35. The political class has achieved remarkable bipartisanship.

They all agree upon screwing us, all pretense is out the window.

[bvar22]

36. Grooming and Legitimizing his...

...Free Trading, Anti-LABOR, Pro-WAR, Chamber of Commerce, Unitary Executive replacement.



"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans.
I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans."
---Paul Wellstone


"By their works you will know them."

[upi402]

41. W and the Queen of England pics

Priceless! Never saw those before, thanks.

[Major Hogwash]

44. I really think that Obama thinks he can win over the right by being nice to them.

Evidently Obama bought into all of that fairy tale bullshit about turning the other cheek after the other guys slaps you, not saying anything bad about someone if you can't repeat it in front of your mother, and to always wash your hands before eating.

In other words, he's been living a protected life for far too long.

[L0oniX]

45. WTF is Og (Jeb B.) doing on a stage ...period! Stupid fucking americans! Go watch American Idol...

...fucking morans. Half of this fucked up fucking country is fucking stupid and it's getting worse.

[polmaven]

48. Maybe because...

while the Bush family has no class and no manners, President Obama has both.

[Overseas]

49. Good question.

Well mannered, indeed! Insidious propaganda.

[Ticonderoga]

50. Toby good boy massah. n/t

[seafan]

51. "I've gotten to know Jeb because his family exemplifies public service."

AP Photo



Reuters Pictures
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at Miami Central Senior High School March 4, 2011. Obama visited the school with Bush and Education Secretary Arne Duncan for an event on the future of education funding.



Getty Images


By JEWEL SAMAD, AFP/Getty Images


Obama seeks the center, to the point of invoking Jeb Bush, March 5, 2011

President Obama continued his efforts to move to the political center on his trip to Florida -- to the point of invoking Republican Jeb Bush's name at a Democratic fundraiser, drawing catcalls in the process.

"No, no, no, no, now," Obama said Friday night, drawing laughter from the crowd at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami. "I know this is not a name you often hear at Florida Democratic fundraisers."

Obama said that he and former Florida governor Bush -- and brother of predecessor George W. Bush -- disagree on many things, but do agree "on the importance of education to America and the need to reform our schools."

.....

Obama praises Jeb Bush on education reform, March 4, 2011

MIAMI - In his first year as Florida governor, Jeb Bush was vilified by Democrats as a "radical" for an education agenda they argued would undermine public schools. So it was a striking moment when, 12 years later, a Democratic president came here Friday to hail the Republican as a "champion of education reform."

.....

Yet there they were, warmly shaking hands, exchanging laughs and declaring themselves brothers in arms when it comes to fixing the country's schools.

"I've gotten to know Jeb because his family exemplifies public service," Obama said, declaring he was "grateful to him for the work that he's doing."

Bush was more muted, withholding direct praise for Obama but adding: "Mr. President, as you have said, educational achievement is not a Republican or Democrat issue."

.....

Obama jokes with Jeb


(via WP)

During a speech in Miami on education and innovation, President Obama joked that former governor of Florida Jeb Bush, who was in attendance, is also best known as the brother of "Marvin Bush" and that the rest of the family "also did some work in Washington... back in the day." (CBS News)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2011/03/04/VI2011030405640.html



GETTY IMAGES



AP Photo



When does an enabler turn into an accomplice?