The Real Jeb Bush?

Writing in The American Conservative, founding editor Scott McConnell offers some interesting perspective on Jeb Bush. Among Scott’s highlights are the following.

• Jeb has now reversed himself on Iraq, saying that he would “not have gone to war.”

• Jeb has added both leading neocon Paul Wolfowitz as well as “realist” James Baker to his list of foreign advisors. When Baker was scheduled to speak at J Street, the liberal Zionist pro-peace organization, billionaire Sheldon Adelson reportedly demanded that Bush force Baker to cancel. Bush did not follow up, which angered Adelson.

• Was Bush about to hire respected realist foreign policy intellectual Eldridge Colby as a foreign policy coordinator before having the hiring “nixed” by the political wing of Jeb’s campaign?

• Brother George, by the middle of his second term, had ceased pursuing a neoconservative foreign policy, letting go Donald Rumsfeld, along with Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith and replacing Rumsfeld with foreign policy realist Robert Gates.

• Jeffery Goldberg reported in the Atlantic that by the end of his second term Bush had begun referring to Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer as “the bomber boys.”

• Bush is married to a Catholic Mexican woman. Bush “proposed in Spanish; when she accepted, she gave him a silver ring with a peace symbol.” Bush converted to Catholicism in 1995.” He speaks Spanish at home and supports vouchers.

• As Florida governor, Jeb was “a forceful hands-on-tax-cutting and bureaucracy shrinking conservative, with a particular interest in education reform. “

Jeb Bush did a fine job in many areas as Florida Governor. As to foreign policy, however, I want nothing to do with neocon Paul Wolfowitz nor the bullying tactics of Sheldon Adelson and his ilk.

Were Jed Bush to simply allow Mr. Wolfowitz to seek greener pastures and stop attending Adelson get-togethers, he would be on the right track. I think Jeb could quickly cement his position as front runner in the Republican Party. This would be especially so if Mr. Bush would commit to junking the tax code, and instead introduced a 10/10/10 simple, flat tax plan for personal and corporate income as well as final sales.