Posted on 07/01/2002 5:30:36 AM PDT by Joe Brower
Do Floridians like Gov. Bush for who he is or what he does?
By GARY FINEOUT CAPITAL BUREAU
posted 07/01/02
OCALA -- It happens every time Jeb Bush shows up in public, and it was no different over the weekend in Marion County. A buzz, an excitement, an eagerness among anyone near him.
Whether it's a room full of other elected officials or this campaign stop Saturday at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. off-track betting hall, the effect is the same: Everyone in the room wants to talk to the governor, touch him, shake his hand, get his autograph on everything from Bush stickers, to T-shirts and hats.
Bush signed so many autographs by the end of his 90-minute appearance Saturday that his fingers were stained with ink from his trademark Sharpie pen.
"I'm a Bushie to the max," said Caroline Blankenship, the owner of an Ocala hair salon, right after getting her picture taken with the 49-year-old Bush.
It's not surprising that Blankenship and other Republicans who showed up at Saturday's campaign stop are excited about Bush. But his star power is even evident when Bush is doing something mundane.
On Memorial Day weekend, he wheeled into a Tallahassee Winn-Dixie grocery store to pick up some corn meal and two bottles of wine. He was in the store less than five minutes, but not before a bag boy asked if he could shake his hand.
"People fight to have their picture made with him, they fight to just have a conversation with him. He has a magnetism that people are drawn to," said former House Speaker John Thrasher, a political ally and friend of Gov. Bush.
Thrasher even has a nickname for Bush based on the rock-star treatment that greets the governor whenever he appears in public: Elvis.
But as Bush moves toward his goal of winning a second term in office, he finds himself confronted with the possibility that voters may like him more than they like what he's actually done in his first term.
That contradiction may show up this fall. Recently published polls say Bush remains far ahead of his Democratic rivals, including former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
But other internal polls from several organizations, including the Democratic Party and other lobbying groups, show voters are also ready to embrace constitutional amendments that limit class sizes in classrooms, require universal pre-kindergarten classes for young children and re-create a statewide board to oversee the state's 11 universities.
"People haven't linked his politics to his policies, and he's been able to talk out of both sides of his mouth," complained Florida Democratic Party Chairman Bob Poe.
Yet if he's re-elected, come January Bush may be required to carry out reforms in education that he didn't champion and even undo the changes in higher education the governor mapped out on a paper napkin some three years ago.
Bush says he understands why the class-size amendment could be popular to voters.
"They, like me, are not satisfied with the results we have had, but they also recognize we have made progress," he said.
Bush also said the class-size initiative is a "no-brainer" until people realize it could cost billions to put in place. That's why he pushed to require amendments to carry price-tags on the ballot.
"The notion that people are for lower class size, heck yeah they are, particularly if it's something for nothing," said Bush. "I'm against the common cold, too. Those are no-brainers. But when you have a $28 billion or $24 billion price tag, let's see how much people want to cut elder programs or raise taxes or whatever the solution is going to be."
A details-driven guy
The idea that voters may re-elect him because of his personality, not his policies, may grate a little on Bush.
Bush loves to immerse himself in policy debates and questions. He has a reputation for wearing out his own staff with his numerous questions and demands. He reads and responds to hundreds of e-mails each day.
At press conferences and public appearances, Bush will quickly end conversations if he feels the questions are needlessly political. But he'll stay behind and dissect questions about anything from jet fuel taxes to per-student funding at state universities.
Over his four years, Bush has willingly waded into the fine print on everything from tax laws, Everglades restoration, electricity deregulation, education, the death penalty and affirmative action.
And Bush has complained when he feels that the press reports only about the conflicts over his policies, not the results.
When a commission created by Bush praised his One Florida plan -- his effort to replace traditional affirmative action in university admissions and state purchasing -- he complained that this "good news" did not receive enough media attention.
"Good news doesn't get quite the same coverage as bad news," Bush told reporters this month.
"One Florida was very controversial when it started. It opened some wounds for which I'm very sorry. That was not the intent of it. But now we have the better results, and it probably won't get covered as much as all the threats, all of the doom and gloom that started early on."
Yet even those attending the Bush campaign stop in Ocala talk generally about why they plan to vote for him this fall. They say they like his efforts to improve education, but they also speak glowingly about the governor's character and his embrace of "family values."
"I like his conservatism, I like his character," said Clara Ward of Marion County. "He supports my values, family values."
Two sides of Bush
It's not that Bush doesn't have political enemies due to the changes he has pushed in office.
His bid to eliminate affirmative action, his push to hand out vouchers so children can attend private schools and his Service First plan that made it easier to fire state employees have earned him the wrath of minority voters, the teachers union and other organized labor groups.
Polls mentioned by The Miami Herald and other newspapers have even pointed out that Floridians, for example, remain opposed to vouchers. But those with the Bush campaign also say that those polls show that Floridians believe that Bush is trying to do something to improve education.
"They appreciate the fact he's trying to tackle an issue that for far too long nobody wanted to take on," said Todd Harris, spokesman for the Bush re-election campaign.
But Sen. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, the organizer of protests against the One Florida plan and chairman of the coalition trying to pass the class size amendment, maintains that Bush is disconnected from the worries of most citizens. Meek, however, maintains that the Bush name and his fund-raising prowess have insulated him politically.
"I think -- I mean I know -- the governor is out of touch with ordinary Floridians," said Meek. "But when you have a president as brother and a mountain of soft money, you can get away with it."
Democratic leaders are convinced that Bush is vulnerable due to his policies and that's why the Republican Party of Florida spent money this spring airing ads praising Bush's education record.
Poe maintains that Democrats will spend their money this fall pointing out to voters that Bush remains skeptical about the class size amendment and other issues that they themselves support.
"Wrapping those issues around this election is what will help bring him down," said Poe.
It remains unclear, however, whether the Democratic Party can carry out its threats since they trail significantly in the amount of money they have to spend to oust Bush and the fact that none of their candidates appear capable of beating Bush.
And although Bush said he was running as if "20 points behind" in the polls, his Ocala campaign swing made it clear that he has the confidence and swagger of someone who will win a second term even if voters don't agree with everything he's done.
"It's important when you are a leader to do the right things," said Bush. "Not to be worried about popularity but to be principle-centered and have your compass pointing north and make decisions on long-term interests, not political interests."
Gee, Gary, why ask the frickin' question if you, in your godlike omnipotence, already know the answer? Buggerin' weasel!
Another predictable display of how leftists' tend to just proclaim things, hoping that by doing so their wishes will become reality.
FL pubbie.
This is a fundamental point in politics. I'm not sure that it's possible for the reverse to be true, that people dislike a politician but like his policies and him be a viable candidate. Everything starts from the personal feelings that people have towards a politician.
BTW, I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees presidential possibilities down the road here.
You aren't. Jeb for prez in '08!!
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