Washington Post: “The confab for some of the GOP’s wealthiest donors came just hours after Bush’s campaign and an allied super PAC announced that they’d donated more than $114 million to support the former governor — an unprecedented sum in American politics that gives him a sizable financial advantage over more than a dozen GOP rivals.”

“Bush had announced plans for the Kennebunkport donor retreat at the start of his campaign, dangling one of the most cherished chits in Republican politics — a visit to his family’s storied beachfront estate — as an incentive to entice benefactors to deliver.”

Jeb Bush’s statement “that Americans should ‘work longer hours‘ thrust the Democratic attack machine into high gear for the first time this cycle, as operatives seized on the opportunity to paint the GOP’s leading 2016 contender with the same devastating brush they used on Mitt Romney four years ago,” Politico reports.

“Their objective isn’t just a few days of bad news coverage that might diminish his standing in the Republican primary field; it’s to establish a critique that will endure for the duration of the campaign.”

Jeb Bush and his allies announced on “that they had amassed more than $114 million in campaign cash over the last six months, dwarfing the combined fund-raising of his Republican rivals for the party’s presidential nomination,” the New York Times reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Only one-tenth of Mr. Bush’s haul went to his Miami-based campaign, with the rest going to the technically independent super PAC, which is based in California and is legally barred from coordinating its activities with his team.”

Jeb Bush said that in order to grow the economy “people should work longer hours,” ABC News reports.

Said Bush: “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this rut that we’re in.”

Rick Klein: “Bush’s comments read like a classic gaffe — a wealthy candidate with a famous name dispensing advice that ‘people need to work longer hours.’ But in their context and later clarification, it’s clear that Bush was making a very serious point about a very real issue: underemployment. That makes this episode an early test of Bush’s strength in the Republican field, as well as a challenge to his rivals who would consider pouncing on the moment.”

“Just two months after a flubbed question about the Iraq War seemed to imperil his presidential candidacy and a campaign shakeup hinted at disarray behind the scenes, Jeb Bush is back on top of the Republican field,” Politico reports.

“Bush has jumped from 10.8 percent on June 15, the day he announced, to 16.3 percent Wednesday in the Real Clear Politics polling average, almost 6 points ahead of his nearest rival, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. In New Hampshire, he’s taken a similar lead.”

National Journal: “While Jeb Bush only announced eight months ago that he was ‘actively exploring’ a campaign for president, his tax returns suggest he’s been at least passively considering a White House run for the past eight years – and was willing to fork over possibly millions of dollars to preserve the option.”

“In the process, he has both neutralized the sort of criticism that helped tank Mitt Romney by paying the highest federal rate possible while simultaneously buying the credibility to argue for tax reform that’s born of shared experience with many millions of Americans who believe they’re paying the IRS too much.”

Jeb Bush “is planning to release 33 years of tax returns Tuesday – the most ever by U.S. presidential candidate,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The decision to release more than three decades of financial information comes as Mr. Bush aims to demonstrate he is more transparent and accessible than his opponents, particularly Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. She has filed the financial disclosure form required for presidential candidates but has not made her tax returns public.”

“If we don’t try to broaden out the map … we’re going to have to win with an inside straight, to use a Vegas term. Inside straight flush or whatever … I’m not a big gambler so I don’t know any gambling—does that sound stupid when you say that?”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by Bloomberg.

Washington Post: “Today, as he works toward his run at the White House, Bush touts his business experience as a strength that gives him the skills and savvy to serve as the nation’s chief executive. He has said he “worked my tail off” to succeed. As an announced candidate, Bush soon will be making financial disclosures that will reveal recent business successes and show a substantial increase in his wealth since he left office as Florida governor in 2007.”

“But records, lawsuits, interviews and newspaper accounts stretching back more than three decades present a picture of a man who, before he was elected Florida governor in 1998, often benefited from his family connections and repeatedly put himself in situations that raised questions about his judgment and exposed him to reputational risk.”