Word: brotherism
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Fans of Florida Governor Jeb Bush often like to whisper that he, not George W., was the brother who should have been President. Jeb, they insist, is the smart one, and the more genuine conservative. So they felt especially smug last month when President Bush, on the same day his poll numbers plunged to 31%, visited Florida to tout his Medicare prescription plan with the help of Jeb, whose own numbers have hovered in the mid-50s since he took office in 1999. Descending Air Force One, the President playfully straightened Jeb's necktie on the Tampa tarmac - and then...
...factors make his denial more plausible than some would assume. Although Jeb, 53, will likely depart as one of America's most popular governors and one of the GOP's most potent figures, a bid to replace his brother in the White House could leave most voters with the impression that the Bushes are trying to be not just a political dynasty, but royalty. Better, the thinking goes, for Jeb to wait until 2012 or 2016. Another reason is personal: friends and aides say Jeb's family, especially his wife Columba and daughter Noelle, who is recovering from drug addiction...
...marked contrast to his brother, Jeb is considered a workaholic policy wonk (although he's been known to relax his patrician demeanor with a glass of Wild Turkey and Motown CDs), and he practically oozes public service vigor, part of what Bush-watchers call the family's drive to cement its place as the GOP's answer to the Kennedy dynasty. "Whether they agree with his policies or not," says political consultant and former Jeb spokesman Cory Tilley, "taxpayers still admire him because they know they're getting their money's worth from...
...shrinking government - has often backfired. While the state's threadbare child welfare agency is rife with neglect and malfeasance, critics complain that he has handed out millions of dollars in unorthodox tax breaks to companies that donate to private schools. Jeb, a morally conservative Roman Catholic, may eschew his brother's work habits, but he shares his Manichean world view - evidenced last year during his polarizing crusade to keep Terri Schiavo alive...
...terrorists may be sneaking across the borders), the increase in federal spending (which they fear will eventually lead to tax hikes) and his expansion of Medicare (which is an "entitlement program, something a conservative always opposes," as Buchanan, sister of former presidential candidate Patrick, told the conference). Like her brother, Buchanan criticized Republicans for not doing enough to arrest the social changes wrought by globalization (multilingualism, low-wage immigration, outsourcing). "This is good for corporate America, which owns Congress, so they do nothing," she told the students...