Jeb Bush amused by 'irony' of Florida Democrat delegate dilemma

MIAMI (FBW)-Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could barely contain his amusement at the Democrat Party's Florida and Michigan delegate dilemma in its tightly contested presidential race, saying it's "ironic beyond belief" that the party which accused him and other Republicans of suppressing the vote in the 2000 Florida presidential election re-count now "got themselves in a hole" of "their own doing."

"My thoughts are filled with irony that every vote should count," Bush said with a broad smile. "I mean this brings back memories of hyperbole and anger, mock anger .... It was a political circus for several years running, people trying to stoke the anger of a group of voters."

Bush made his comments in an exclusive March 14 interview with Florida Baptist Witness at his modest office in Miami.

Bush confirmed he has not given any other news media interviews-although he has been "asked to do a lot of them"-in order to allow his successor Gov. Charlie Crist to "create his own path." As former governor it's "important" for him to "get out of the way," as well as to "let go," he said.

While he said "I don't enjoy being a pundit" and dislikes "punditry," Bush offered comments about the Democrat Party's delegate quandary; John McCain's need to "solidify" the GOP base and his prospects for victory in November; and outlined a "21st century conservative philosophy."

Bush agreed to the Witnessinterview because the primary topic was expanded gambling in Florida. His concerns about expanded gambling will be covered in a forthcoming Witness story.

Concerning a possible Democrat re-vote in Florida, Bush compared complaints that a mail-in ballot may not be secure with criticism Democrats leveled at Republicans in 2000.

"I believe Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz is now saying there's no way that we're going to do ballot by mail because who's going to be in charge, we can't insure the sanctity of the ballot," Bush said. "And any effort we made to do just that-to make sure that ... only people eligible to vote could vote ... brought unbelievable opposition from the very people that now are confronted with this challenge."

Bush said he finds "odd" the idea of a "do-over"-a revote in Florida and Michigan because the Democrat National Committee removed all the states' delegates as punishment after their presidential primaries were moved up in the calendar. But he also said it's probably not fair to Sen. Barack Obama to allow the Florida Jan. 29 vote to stand because he didn't campaign here, in accordance with the rules.

By comparison, Bush said the Republican National Committee's response to the early primaries in which Florida Republicans only lost half of their delegates looks today "genius-like compared to the DNC." The DNC punishment was "out of proportion," he added.

Concerning Sen. John McCain's prospects for victory in November, Bush said the presumptive Republican nominee has an "excellent chance," based on several assumptions-that he "solidify his base," that he "offer a 21st century version of conservatism," and that he "compare and contrast" with "civility" his ideological differences with the Democrat nominee.

"He needs to explain to people what it would be like with a President Obama or President Clinton," Bush said.

McCain can rally conservatives to him if he "works hard to reach out, irrespective of the first results or the second results" and because "his record is one of a conservative on most issues."

Bush said he likes McCain because "he doesn't appear to be timid," which will allow him to offer conservative solutions to "what appear to be intractable problems."

A new version of conservatism is necessary, according to Bush, because "we can't be nostalgic about the good old days. The world is changing. The changes are disruptive. People are anxious and they will default to the bigger government solutions unless the presidential candidate and other Republican leaders advocate a 21st century version of conservative thinking with substantive policies, even if they're provocative."

Asked to outline the elements of a "21st century conservative" agenda, Bush said it would be a "multi-faceted" philosophy, including an aggressive foreign policy that affirms the "Bush Doctrine," reforms government institutions, recognizes the global nature of the economy, and cultivates a culture that supports the family.

Bush said he would "defer on these matters to Newt Gingrich, who I consider to be one of the more thoughtful, thinking conservatives in the country now who's doing a lot of work on these areas."

Although America cannot be the world's "policeman," Bush said the forward-looking conservative agenda must include support for his brother's foreign policy doctrine that "freedom is in everybody's heart, irrespective of the political situation of where they live-that there is a desire to be free - and that the world is a safer place if freedom reigned as the organizing principles of countries."

He said, contrary to "all the criticism" the Bush Doctrine has seen success.

"We need to re-engage the American people in the reasons why it's in our interest to be a strong nation around the world. In spite of the fact that it doesn't make us the most popular country in the world, there is a tacit understanding that the United States' pulling back would create chaos. Sen. McCain can do that very well."

Regarding reforming the government, Bush-pointing to his computer-said, "this thing has radically changed the world" but "if you go to Washington you wouldn't necessarily know that we've had those kinds of dramatic changes in productivity and the ability to provide services that would be science fiction literally just 10-15 years ago."

Bush listed healthcare, education, immigration, and the way government functions as examples of needed reform.

Conservatives "can't just be against things, we have to be pro-actively advocating, using our principles as the guide for the reforms of basic institutions that are critical for our success."

Bush said the "interconnectedness of the world and the globalization of the economy is here to stay and ... for the United States to be successful and continue to be the most prosperous country in the world we have to change how we do things"-save more, be less reliant on unstable sources of oil, and expand domestic sources of energy.

"We need to make sure that people who have been on the wrong side of disruptive change have a chance to dust themselves off and get back into the game with skills that are 21st century-related, rather than training programs that existed in the 1960s or '70s."

Bush said America's open immigration system is "one of our strengths" and demographics will dictate the need for greater legal immigration.

"Securing the border and a validation of our open immigration system to me is a critical part of being competitive in the world. Those immigrants need to share our values, but we need to share our values," he said, citing as an example the father of Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio and his immigration to America from Cuba.

Bush commented with urgency on a recent Centers for Disease Control report finding that 25 percent of teenage girls have sexually transmitted diseases.

The report, Bush said, is "breathtakingly scary and sad," underscoring the need for the culture to affirm the family.

"If you look at poverty, the direct leading indicator of poverty is a broken family or a family that didn't have a dad in the house from the beginning. You look at education outcomes and family structure matters. So, in order for us to maintain who we are as a nation that does not rely on collective action to solve problems, we need to look at our culture that has dealt a body blow to the most important institution in society, which is the American family," he said.

Summing up the stakes of the 2008 presidential election, Bush said: "... [W]e've always had debates about national security, about economic prosperity, about American values, but I think they need to be updated for the world that we're living in, which is much more exciting, much more disruptive, much faster changing, where the United States is part of a much larger world. And the role we play in that is critical. It is absolutely critical in how we act and how we develop policies around the citizens that people are supposed to be serving. It's hugely important, this election, compared to others."

Bush told the Witnesshe misses serving as governor and serving with an "amazingly talented group of people" during his eight years in Tallahassee, but is busy with "doing speeches, which is like being in politics without the politics. I get to talk about policy, which I enjoy."

He and his wife, Columba, are "really happy to be back in Miami. We love this town. Life is good."