It seems to me that someone finally told the truth form the Bush clan. Bush Sr's book that criticizes Cheney, Rumsfeld, and even his own son's bellicosity it the kind of thing that Jeb could have said when asked about his brother's legacy.
But his impulse throughout has been to wrap himself tighter and tighter in W's legacy.
I mean maybe if he had offered the criticisms of W's Administration it could have been different.
True to form, he is offering a blanket defense of all things W.
"Jeb Bush on Thursday expressed full confidence in his brother's independent decision-making during his presidency, after the release of excerpts from their father's upcoming biography that harshly criticize the negative influence of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."
"In response, Bush said that his older brother is "a big boy" and that their father and others are attempting to "create a different narrative."
"His administration was shaped by his thinking, his reaction to the attack on 9/11. I think my dad, like a lot of people that love George, want to try to create a different narrative, perhaps just to — just 'cause that's natural to do, right? But [my brother] would say 'This was under my watch, I was commander in chief, I was the leader, and I accept personal responsibility for what happened, both the good and the bad.' And I think that's the right way to look at it," the former Florida governor told NBC News’ Kasie Hunt, in an interview aired on MSNBC.
"As it relates to Dick Cheney, he served my brother well as vice president, and he served my dad extraordinarily well as secretary of defense," he continued. "The context changes — we've got to get beyond this feeling that somehow 1991 is the same as 2001, which is the same as 2017. It isn't. The world has changed; it always changes, and the context changes as it relates to foreign policy and everything else. So, looking forward, I think there are lessons to be learned from both those presidencies and the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/jeb-bush-defends-george-w-bush-215564#ixzz3qimW1IZQ
See, I wonder if this is another missed opportunity for Jeb-not that the cow hasn't long since left the barn.
But maybe if he had offered up the same critique of Cheney-Rumsfeld his Dad has done in the book it could have helped. I don't think doing this could have left him any worse off.
But by again offering up a full throated defense of W, he loses any hope of differentiating himself.
This again, shows what has been observe recently. W turned out to be the much better politician than Jeb.
On a personal level I agree that it's hard to tell Jeb to basically throw spitballs at his own brother.
But recall W's run in 2000. He didn't defend his Dad at all, He just said this is about him not his Dad and when he talked about what inspired him, he talked about Reagan not his father.
W was able to successfully separate from his Dad in a way that Jeb hasn't been able to separate from him.
But his impulse throughout has been to wrap himself tighter and tighter in W's legacy.
I mean maybe if he had offered the criticisms of W's Administration it could have been different.
True to form, he is offering a blanket defense of all things W.
"Jeb Bush on Thursday expressed full confidence in his brother's independent decision-making during his presidency, after the release of excerpts from their father's upcoming biography that harshly criticize the negative influence of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."
"In response, Bush said that his older brother is "a big boy" and that their father and others are attempting to "create a different narrative."
"His administration was shaped by his thinking, his reaction to the attack on 9/11. I think my dad, like a lot of people that love George, want to try to create a different narrative, perhaps just to — just 'cause that's natural to do, right? But [my brother] would say 'This was under my watch, I was commander in chief, I was the leader, and I accept personal responsibility for what happened, both the good and the bad.' And I think that's the right way to look at it," the former Florida governor told NBC News’ Kasie Hunt, in an interview aired on MSNBC.
"As it relates to Dick Cheney, he served my brother well as vice president, and he served my dad extraordinarily well as secretary of defense," he continued. "The context changes — we've got to get beyond this feeling that somehow 1991 is the same as 2001, which is the same as 2017. It isn't. The world has changed; it always changes, and the context changes as it relates to foreign policy and everything else. So, looking forward, I think there are lessons to be learned from both those presidencies and the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/jeb-bush-defends-george-w-bush-215564#ixzz3qimW1IZQ
See, I wonder if this is another missed opportunity for Jeb-not that the cow hasn't long since left the barn.
But maybe if he had offered up the same critique of Cheney-Rumsfeld his Dad has done in the book it could have helped. I don't think doing this could have left him any worse off.
But by again offering up a full throated defense of W, he loses any hope of differentiating himself.
This again, shows what has been observe recently. W turned out to be the much better politician than Jeb.
On a personal level I agree that it's hard to tell Jeb to basically throw spitballs at his own brother.
But recall W's run in 2000. He didn't defend his Dad at all, He just said this is about him not his Dad and when he talked about what inspired him, he talked about Reagan not his father.
W was able to successfully separate from his Dad in a way that Jeb hasn't been able to separate from him.
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