Larry Sabato: “His unexpected, all-but-in announcement on Dec. 16 stunned his competitors and the political community. Bush didn’t just accelerate the entire process, including forthcoming announcements by rivals, but he also gained a leg up in conventional wisdom’s positioning. So for the first time in a while, we elevate a candidate to the First Tier of the Crystal Ball’s GOP rankings for president. Jeb Bush fills a long-established vacuum. Our decision is tentative; his poll ratings are still underwhelming, and Bush is a shaky frontrunner. Yet Bush is No. 1 on a giant roster as we begin the long roller-coaster process of picking the party nominees over the next year and a half.”
Bush’s Government-in-Waiting
“Jeb Bush, more than any other potential Republican presidential candidate, brings to the table a government-in-waiting of executive branch veterans experienced in domestic and national security policy,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“The Bush family network of political operatives is thousands deep and scattered across Washington and the nation, throughout politics and the private sector. The group was formed over three White House administrations, not to mention Jeb Bush’s two terms as Florida governor, during a period spanning 30 years. The Bush alumni are rich in the critical experience needed to run the federal government day to day.”
Quote of the Day
“If someone wants to run a campaign about 90s nostalgia, it’s not going to be very successful.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by the Connecticut Post, taking a swipe at Hillary Clinton.
Bush Will Release Tax Returns
“As he lays the groundwork for a likely presidential campaign, Jeb Bush is prepared to make an early disclosure of a decade or more of personal tax returns, according to people close to the former Florida governor,” Politico reports.
“The effort is meant in large part to eliminate comparisons to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who waited until September of 2012 to release just two years of tax returns after months of pressure from Democrats and even members of his own party to be more open about his extensive wealth.”
Return of the ‘Compassionate Conservative’
Mark Murray notes that Jeb Bush’s mission statement for his new PAC strikingly sounds a lot like his brother George W. Bush’s “Compassionate Conservative” platform during his 2000 presidential campaign.
“So if Jeb Bush’s outline is any guide, you could expect his domestic goals and platforms to look similar to his brother’s. Of course, this raises the question whether this is what today’s Republican Party and conservative movement want – a question that probably won’t be decided at least a year from now.”
Bush Announces Formation of PAC
Jeb Bush used a cell phone and Instagram to produce videos — one in English, one in Spanish — announcing the formation of the Right to Rise PAC, his vehicle to explore a 2016 presidential bid.
Bush Campaign Ready to Launch
“Jeb Bush’s fundraising operation is about to get serious,” Politico reports.
“Allies of the former Florida governor are planning to roll out both a leadership PAC and a super PAC in the coming days in an effort to lock up major donors and give pause to potential rivals for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination… The plan is a bold one that in some ways echoes — and updates — the aggressive pre-campaign fundraising approach taken by Mitt Romney ahead of his 2008 and 2012 runs.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
“Should sodomy be elevated to the same constitutional status as race and religion? My answer is No.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by BuzzFeed, arguing against gay marriage in a 1994 Miami Herald op-ed piece.
Bush Kicks Off Presidential Fundraising in Greenwich
“Jeb Bush’s flirtation with running for president in 2016 will take the former Florida governor to the familiar and lush stomping grounds of the Bush political clan: Greenwich,” the Connecticut Post reports.
“The Republican will raise money for his newly-created leadership PAC at a reception Wednesday in the hometown of his father, former President George H.W. Bush. Proof that not all of Greenwich winters in Florida, a popular tax-Haven for Connecticut residents, Bush will be hosted by an assemblage of relatives and political allies with ties to his father and brother.”
Bush Sets the Pace for GOP Hopefuls
First Read: “Huckabee’s announcement on Saturday is also a story about Jeb Bush, because we’re pretty sure that Huckabee wouldn’t have departed his Fox job as soon as he did if Bush hadn’t been making his own moves. We’re cautious to call Jeb the GOP frontrunner right now, but fellow Republicans sure are reacting to him like he’s the frontrunner — he’s dictating the rules and pace.”
GOP Presidential Race Kicks Off
“Boy, that escalated quickly. Less than two months after the 2014 elections, the 2016 Republican presidential race is taking clear shape — with several major players moving quickly to carve out their own space (and maybe keep others from carving it up) in the contest,” Chris Cillizza writes.
“All of the sudden movement — particularly from Bush and Huckabee — has the potential to dramatically alter the face of the just-beginning race to be the next Republican presidential nominee.”
Jeb Bush Resigns All Board Positions
Jeb Bush, “moving closer to a possible presidential run, has resigned all of his corporate and nonprofit board memberships, including with his own education foundation,” the Washington Post reports.
“He also resigned as a paid adviser to a for-profit education company that sells online courses to public university students in exchange for a share of their tuition payments.”
“Bush’s New Year’s Eve disclosure… culminated a string of moves he has made in recent days to shed business interests that have enriched him since leaving office in 2007. The aide said the resignations had been made ‘effective today.'”
Quote of the Day
“Jeb Bush, it’s been a long time since he’s run for office. Politics has changed dramatically since his last race.”
— White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, in an interview with the Huffington Post.
Bush Jumps to Top of GOP Field
A new CNN/ORC poll finds Jeb Bush with the support of 23% of Republicans, 10 points higher than his nearest rival, New Jersey Gov. Chris Cristie.
Byron York: “But amid all those names — 14 in all — CNN left one off: Mitt Romney. The 2012 Republican nominee has been leading the GOP field in surveys that include his name — indeed, he led CNN’s November poll, with 20 percent to Bush’s 9 percent. Did Romney’s support disappear in the space of a month, even as Bush announced he is ‘actively exploring’ a presidential run?”
Quote of the Day
“I think Jeb getting into the race will help the field. He’s been a successful governor and again having a person of his background in the race makes a lot of sense but it won’t make a difference about whether I get in or not.”
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by The Hill.
Rubio Not Letting Bush Push Him Out
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “is planning to take a more active role on the national political stage next month, undeterred by his former mentor Jeb Bush’s moves toward running for president,” The Hill reports.
“Republican strategists predicted months ago that Rubio would not run for the White House if Bush waged a bid. They assumed Rubio’s fundraising base in Florida would migrate entirely to Bush, the state’s former governor.”
The Wall Street Journal notes Rubio “is facing a difficult decision about running for president or continuing to represent Florida in the Senate.”
Bush’s Business Record Brings Romney Comparisons
The Los Angeles Times says Jeb Bush’s business record, “enmeshed in international finance and some troubled former ventures in South Florida, could end up complicating his return to politics and his hopes to follow his father, George H.W. Bush, and his older brother, George W. Bush, into the Oval Office.”
“Last year, he took a step into the rarefied world of private equity and offshore investments, joining with former banking executives and a Chinese airline company to make bets on natural gas exploration and shipping. One of the funds was set up in the United Kingdom, a structure that allows the company to shield overseas investors from U.S. taxes.”
“During the 2012 race, Romney drew ceaseless attacks from Democrats for his lucrative work at Bain Capital, a pioneering venture capital company that bought scores of troubled companies, took over their management and sometimes laid off employees while garnering huge fees and payouts. But Bush and his aides argue that his investments and entrepreneurial ventures are different because he isn’t taking control of companies and restructuring them.”
Jeb Bush Loves Email
The Washington Post combs through the thousands of emails released from Jeb Bush’s tenure as Florida governor.
“The e-mails depict him both as terse chief executive and a sometimes-flip writer who sprinkled his messages with ‘awesome,’ ‘my bad’ and ‘chill out’ … The trove of Bush correspondence available to the public is voluminous, both because of Florida’s expansive public-records laws and because of Bush’s proclivity for e-mail. An early adopter of the technology, the former governor was known for constantly pecking out messages on his BlackBerry and reportedly spent as much as 30 hours a week reading and sending e-mail.”
CNN has the top five takeaways from Bush’s email archive.
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