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Presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain told Mexican leaders security at the border is a precondition of immigration reform. McCain ended a visit to Colombia and Mexico Thursday, The Arizona Republic reported. I believe we must have comprehensive immigration reform. The American people want our borders secured first, McCain said at a Mexico City news conference. That will require some walls. It will require virtual fences. It will require high-technology equipment. We must secure our borders, and then we will address the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. McCain was one of the authors of an immigration reform bill that...

Jeb Bush Joins McCain on Tour of Basilica in Mexico City Sen. John McCain, his wife Cindy McCain, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, listen as Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce, left, discusses details from an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, July 3, 2008. (Associated Press)By Juliet EilperinMEXICO CITY -- Paying homage to one of the holiest sites for Mexican Roman Catholics, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) visited the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe this morning along with his wife and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.  The president's younger brother, who has been friendly...

President Bush may follow in the footsteps of his brother Jeb and convert to Catholicism, several European papers are reporting. In the wake of the president’s visit to see Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, Italian newspapers, citing Vatican sources, said Bush was open to the idea of converting to Catholicism. The Italian newspaper Il Foglio referred to such talk about Bush’s possible conversion and stated that “anything is possible, especially for someone reborn like Bush.� Noting that Tony Blair converted to Catholicism after leaving office as Britain’s prime minister last year, the paper also stated that “if anything happens,...

Breaking the Link Between Poverty and Low Achievement: Why Jeb Bush should be on Mount Rushmore Matthew Ladner , Goldwater Institute Daily Email, April 07, 2008 Imagine if we carved a Mount Rushmore for successful progressive governors. Since the root word of “progressive” is “progress,” I nominate former Florida governor Jeb Bush to make the cut. Progressives are concerned with the welfare of the poor. But a better definition, one might argue, would be someone who actually makes progress toward solving the problems of the poor. Like Jeb Bush. The Florida governor is a right-winger, to be sure, but he...

MIAMI (FBW) – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could barely contain his amusement at the Democrat Party’s Florida and Michigan delegate dilemma in its tightly contested presidential race, saying it’s “ironic beyond belief” that the party which accused him and other Republicans of suppressing the vote in the 2000 Florida presidential election re-count now “got themselves in a hole” of “their own doing.” “My thoughts are filled with irony that every vote should count,” Bush said with a broad smile. “I mean this brings back memories of hyperbole and anger, mock anger …. It was a political circus for several...

How George torpedoed Jeb's presidential hopes and sank the family's political dynasty. Will America close the books on the Bush dynasty when George W. leaves office in January? Or is it still possible that his younger brother, Jeb, will rise from the ashes of the second Bush presidency -- perhaps even as part of the Bush clan's ongoing duel with the House of Clinton? While one should never say never in politics, such a rematch in 2012 or 2016 is beginning to seem extremely unlikely. Even Jeb himself apparently regards prospects for a Bush resurrection as largely hopeless. To understand...

ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has endorsed John McCain for president. "John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader," said Governor Bush. "Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good. He is determined and steadfast in his commitment to reducing the burden of high taxes, restoring the people's trust in their government, and winning the war against radical Islamic extremists. It is with pride that I...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has endorsed John McCain for president. "John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader," said Governor Bush. "Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good. He is determined and steadfast in his commitment to reducing the burden of high taxes, restoring the people's trust in their government, and winning the war against radical Islamic extremists. It is with pride that I...

Short List of possible VP Candidates: Romney, Huckabee, Coburn, Hunter, Thompson, DeMint, Sessions, Lynn Cheney, Ingraham, Rush, Mark Levin, Lieberman, Giuliani, Condy Rice, Colin Powell, Rumsfeld, JOhn Bolton, Pawlenty, Sanford, Stallone, Chuck Norris, J. C. Watts, Jeb Bush, Michael Steele Any others? Have at it.

How can we get Jeb Bush to run as an independent? Think about it. In an ordinary year, he would have the baggage of Bush fatigue. But I bet he could win in a three-way race against any Democrat and an unreliable, hotheaded, too old, moderate at best, and not very nice candidate like McCain. This could be Jeb’s time, and the best shot he will ever have. He would have no latino problem, being loved in Florida. Our low turnout compared to the Dems shows us that the party is too dispirited to be successful this year. Jeb Bush...

Robert Novak reports that President Bush won’t support Mitt Romney because he changed his mind about shamnesty (hat tip - reader Rosebud). While President George W. Bush has maintained neutrality among contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, he privately expresses to friends his exasperation with Mitt Romney’s hard-line stance on immigration. Bush is upset that Romney changed his position on the issue, compared to what it had been when he was governor of Massachusetts, at the expense of the president’s immigration reform. Bush and Sen. John McCain are not close, but the president is grateful for McCain’s support on Iraq...

POLK CITY, Fla. — The Republican presidential contest entered a new phase on Sunday as the campaigns descended on Florida for the first primary in which all the candidates are participating full force, using as their stage a state famous for divisive election battles. Four major candidates — Senator John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mike Huckabee — all have a claim to different segments of the Republican electorate in this culturally and geographically diverse state. And in a rare moment of political consensus, all of the campaigns see the primary in Florida, the fourth most populous state...

There were red faces at the Manhattan Institute, after the Union Club ejected reporters from an awards lunch in its Upper East Side clubhouse where they had been invited to hear Mayor Bloomberg and the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, speak yesterday. After guests were served a lunch of roasted potatoes, stuffed chicken, and mixed vegetables, staff members of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, which was hosting the event and publicized it to members of the press, told reporters they needed to leave at the behest of club officials. "The police are right outside. If you don't leave...

Mayor Bloomberg, who exited the Republican Party in June, is appearing alongside some of the most famous names in the GOP this week, introducing a former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, at an awards luncheon today and hosting a fund-raiser tomorrow at his home for the Reagan Presidential Library that will be attended by Nancy Reagan. Mr. Bush, who is receiving the Manhattan Institute's Urban Innovator Award at the Union Club today, and Mr. Bloomberg have teamed up on education issues in the past. On October 30, Mr. Bush in an opinion piece published in the New York Post praised...

For the past two years, analysts have been asking how fast-growing WellCare Health Plans of Tampa has been able to make so much money running government health plans for the poor and elderly. Now government investigators may be asking the same thing. On a rainy Wednesday morning, more than 200 federal and state agents swarmed WellCare's campus on Henderson Road in Tampa, forcing employees onto the sidewalk and into their cars. Steven Meitzen, 51, who arrived at WellCare about 9:40 a.m. for a job interview, said he was initially told it was a bomb scare. "Later on, I talked to...

Florida Governor Charlie Crist didn't appreciate our coverage of his plan to socialize his state's disaster insurance market and put taxpayers on the hook for billions. Now his populist lunge has won him a more formidable foe in the Sunshine State: his predecessor as Governor, Jeb Bush. The highly popular Mr. Bush doesn't make a habit of violating Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment ("Thou Shalt Not Criticize Fellow Republicans"), but he's making an exception here. BestWeek, a trade publication of insurance rating firm A.M. Best, quotes Mr. Bush criticizing states that are crafting disaster insurance plans "that are as bad as...

Leaders Shouldn't Separate Faith and Politics, Catholic Governor Jeb Bush States By Elizabeth O'BrienATLANTA, Georgia, August 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Republican governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, brother of President George Bush, described his "faith journey" to audiences at a Catholic conference this summer, emphasizing that faith and politics should not be separated. The devout Catholic and pro-life politician received a standing ovation from a crowd of families, children, priests and young people before he even began his speech at the 11th Youth and Family Encounter conference at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The event was sponsored this July...

<p>Schindler is the brother of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman who died in 2005 after a decades-long court battle.</p> <p>"What is the rush?" he asked. "This is not the first time we've heard of cases like this where doctors want to write off the chance of recovery, and the family, when they're told this, will make a decision to end a person's life.</p>

It's happening again! A spouse attempting to have a spouse starved and dehydrated to death. This time it is in Arizona. News reports state that on May 30th, Jesse Ramirez and his wife Rebecca were in the mist of an argument, when he lost control of the SUV they were driving in, which resulted in a roll over crash. Both were ejected from the vehicle. Jesse, 36, reportedly suffered critical injuries, which include a broken neck and head injuries, while Rebecca, 33, suffered only minor injuries. AZcentral.com's "To keep him alive or let him die?"  by Rich Dubek and...

ATHENS, Greece: Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush arrived in Greece on Monday for a sailing holiday around the Greek islands as a guest of a shipping tycoon. The former president landed early Monday in Athens and changed planes for Kavala, a port city in northeastern Greece, where he arrived shortly after 11 a.m. (0800GMT). ***SNIP*** Bush is a guest of Greek shipping tycoon Spiros Latsis, on whose yacht he has also vacationed in the past. ***SNIP*** Bush is accompanied by a party of 19, including his son Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida.

By JEB BUSH AND KEN MEHLMAN We support the immigration reform compromise worked out in the Senate for a few simple reasons. It strengthens our national defense. It makes our economy more competitive and flexible. It enhances the rule of law and promotes national unity. And it also does these things in a fair, practical way. The bill provides real border security for the first time, protecting us against the entry of terrorists and stemming the flow of illegal drugs. The temporary worker program will reduce the number of people trying to sneak past the border patrol, allowing law enforcement...

Proposition 187 drove Hispanics from California’s Republican party! So argue Jeb Bush and Ken Mehlman in today’s Wall Street Journal, recycling one of the most cherished myths of the Open Borders Lobby. According to this nostrum, had Californians, fed up with the costs of providing free public services to illegal aliens, not voted to require legal residency to receive those services, California would today, in Bush and Mehlman’s phrase, still be “Reagan country,” its burgeoning Hispanic population reliably pulling the lever for Republicans. Too bad they didn’t read their own op-ed. No Republican presidential nominee has won California since 1988,...

Clift: Bushes betting on Romney

Editorial written by summer Whenever I start writing something I hope can be appreciated by both sides of the aisle, it seems like my hope quickly fades, because of a bad situation I can’t ignore from one side, which more often than not is the liberal side. For example, FreeRepublic.com enforces a strict policy of not allowing a news headline to be discarded; but, over at Huff Post, they literally “eat” the press. When I surfed over to Huffington Post last night, I saw a front page news headline I hadn’t seen posted anywhere else, screaming about Jeb Bush. Apparently...

At a time when the conservative movement is looking bereft, humbled by midterm-election defeats and hungering for a presidential candidate to rally around, Jeb Bush delivered yesterday in Washington a resounding endorsement of conservative principles, bringing his audience repeatedly to its feet. In his lunchtime remarks to the Conservative Summit, Bush struck every conservative chord, blaming Republicans' defeat in November on the party's abandonment of tenets including limited government and fiscal restraint. "Don't take offense personally if I get mad at Congress," the Republican former Florida governor began. "It's important for us to realize we lost, and there are significant...

Non-Candidate Shows Ability to Excite the Party At a time when the conservative movement is looking bereft, humbled by midterm-election defeats and hungering for a presidential candidate to rally around, Jeb Bush delivered yesterday in Washington a resounding endorsement of conservative principles, bringing his audience repeatedly to its feet. In his lunchtime remarks to the Conservative Summit, Bush struck every conservative chord, blaming Republicans' defeat in November on the party's abandonment of tenets including limited government and fiscal restraint. "Don't take offense personally if I get mad at Congress," the Republican former Florida governor began. "It's important for us to...

Two and a half years ago I predicted George W Bush's victory in the 2004 elections as well as the subsequent ruin of his political fortune. "Many will be the night during his second term," I wrote in August 2004, "that Bush will wish he were still in Texas, and still drunk." [1] Here is a follow-on forecast: brother Jeb, about to step down as governor of the state of Florida, will be elected president of the United States in 2008, thanks in large measure to the rebound ofthe current president's standing. In fact, I have no idea whether this...

When the same old irksome question popped up recently at one of his final public events here, Gov. Jeb Bush, addressing Spanish-speaking reporters, gave an atypically dramatic answer: “Yo no tengo futuro,” or “I have no future.” His words set off round-the-world buzz, with The Daily Telegraph of London going so far as to call them “a recognition by the Bush family that their dynastic reign in American politics is drawing to a close.” But in fact, the question lives on. Mr. Bush’s spokeswoman said last week that he made the comment jokingly, and when asked about it later in...

THE STORY OF FLORIDA'S ECONOMY -- FROM JOBS TO COST OF LIVING -- IS BETTER TOLD BY PEOPLE TALLAHASSEE - What happened to Florida's economy on Gov. Jeb Bush's eight-year watch could be told by numbers: • Good ones, like almost 1.4 million more jobs in Florida now than when he took office. And a jobless rate that hit an all-time low of 3 percent during his tenure. It's a touch higher now, but still well below the national rate. • Bad ones, like a strikingly higher cost of living, mostly because of skyrocketing home insurance costs that Bush seemed...

TALLAHASSEE · With the family cat in tow, Gov. Jeb Bush headed Friday for the next chapter of his life, leaving his Capitol office for a holiday trip to South Florida with no plans to return to the office. Gov.-elect Charlie Crist takes over Jan. 2. Bush won't return to Tallahassee until that day, when he will attend Crist's inauguration. "I'm going to take some time off, hopefully do a little fishing, golfing, resting, reading, exercising. And I've got to make a living, so I'll figure it out probably in January." Bush, who has been governor since 1999, has already...

The shadow of President Bush seemed to loom large over his younger brother on Wednesday, as the outgoing Florida governor ruled out any plans to return to elected office. "No tengo futuro (I have no future)," Jeb Bush told Spanish-language reporters in Miami, when asked about any possible political ambitions after he steps down next month. The popular, two-term governor has often been touted as a savvy politician with a good chance of following both his brother and father, George H.W. Bush, into the White House. But the unpopularity and dismal job-approval ratings of his brother may have scuttled any...

Whether viewed by Floridians with reverence or disdain, Jeb Bush transformed Florida politics during his eight-year tenure, to the benefit of the Republican Party. BY BETH REINHARD breinhard@MiamiHerald.com To size up Jeb Bush's political legacy, look no farther than the punctuation that followed his first name on his trademark campaign bumper sticker: Jeb! The signature slogan captures the governor's atomic impact on Florida politics, for better or worse. He lifted the Republican Party onto the broad shoulders of his six-foot-four frame and into the stratosphere, sweeping up untold millions of campaign dollars, stacking hundreds of influential boards and courthouse benches,...

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he is "not ruling in or out" running for president or vice president in 2008. "I don't know what the future holds for me," Bush told NewsMax as he leaves office this month after eight years as governor. "To be honest with you, the only job in public life that I've been interested in over the last 15 years has been to be governor. It's been my dream come true. I guess it's hard for people to appreciate, but I've never viewed it as a stepping stone to anything else." Bush said he would feel...

FORMER US president George H.W. Bush broke down in tears today during a speech about his son, not the current president but the outgoing governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. Mr Bush, who was speaking at a leadership forum in Tallahassee, Florida, began weeping as he spoke about the way Jeb Bush handled losing the governor's election in 1994. "(He) showed not merely with words but by his actions what decent ...," the former president said before breaking down and being comforted by his son.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Dec. 5) - Former President George H.W. Bush came here Monday to talk about leadership and opened his remarks with advice on working with rivals, being patient and building personal relationships. He then broke down in tears mentioning his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, as an example of leadership and the way he handled losing the 1994 governor's race to popular incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles. He vaguely referred to dirty tricks in the campaign. "He didn't whine about it. He didn't complain," the former president said before choking up in front of lawmakers, Gov. Bush's top administrators and state...

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Charlie Crist says he was perfectly clear in opposing governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. He spoke out loudly. And he was silent. Loudly silent. The day after limping through a tough nationally televised debate, the Republican attorney general wanted to talk about his plans to slash taxes. Instead reporters questioned him about his debate assertion that, “Yes, I did’’ speak out against Congress trying to force the reinsertion of the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube in 2005. Crist did not publicly express his opposition to the Schiavo intervention until April 2006, more than a year...

Tom Tancredo is once again under fire for stating the obvious. This weekend our founding chairman told a group of conservatives that ``You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country.'' This should not be a controversial statement. In fact many of Miami residents like to brag that the city is the capital of Latin America. Florida Governor Jeb Bush was offended by his truthfulness and called him Naïve. Bush said Miami is “ home to the best advanced placement programs in the country. ‘These achievements are...

Trash-talking about Miami has earned a Colorado congressman a rebuke from Florida's governor. Don't mess with Miami. That's the message Texas-born Florida Gov. Jeb Bush delivered Tuesday to fellow Republican, Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, who dissed the governor's adopted hometown as a ''Third World country'' in recent remarks. In a two-page letter, the governor, born in Midland, Texas, but claiming Miami as his home since 1981, used statistics -- citing high-scoring Hispanic students at Miami high schools and declining crime rates -- to tout the city. ''The bottom line is Miami is a wonderful city filled with diversity and...

Tancredo's slam of Miami irritates Florida Gov. Bush By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News November 29, 2006 Rep. Tom Tancredo drew fire from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and others Tuesday after saying the ethnically diverse city of Miami resembled "a Third World country." Tancredo, R-Littleton, touched off a controversy when he said during a weekend summit of conservative activists at a Palm Beach resort that unfettered immigration, both legal and illegal, was behind problems like high crime rates in Miami. "You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace," Tancredo said of Miami, according to the Web...

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has hired several of Jeb Bush’s top aides, leading to speculation that Romney may be courting the outgoing Florida governor for a possible Romney-Bush 2008 ticket for the White House. After Bush’s former chief of staff and top political adviser, Sally Bradshaw, joined Romney’s Commonwealth political action committee earlier this month, Romney flew to Florida to join Bush for campaign events and fund-raisers - and to gauge Bush’s interest in being a running mate, sources told the Boston Herald. Soon after, Bush’s chief finance director, Ann Woods Herberger, also joined Romney’s political action committee. Bush has...

TALLAHASSEE - Elections supervisors in eight counties can post signs at polling places that say a vote for the disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is really a vote for his Republican replacement, as long as they name the Democrat, too, the 1st District Court of Appeal said Friday. Despite Foley's resignation nearly a month ago amid accusations that he sent lurid e-mails to congressional pages, his name is stuck on the ballot. While more than 11,000 voters in the 16th Congressional District have already cast votes without signs during early voting, the signs will go up and stay up,...

There's been a lot of political buzz about Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's 2008 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, and now I know why: In one swoop, his Commonwealth PAC this week hired what could be the A-team of political consultants. "Mitt Romney means business," says media guru Alex Castellanos. The proof: Romney picked one of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's longtime advisers, Sally Bradshaw, who has worked for both President Bushes and was Jeb Bush's chief of staff for a while. What does her hiring mean? "Where Sally Bradshaw goes, a lot of Jeb Bush's people will follow," says Castellanos,...

PITTSBURGH - Protesters greeted Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on his way to a campaign event for a Pennsylvania senator, and he briefly took refuge in a subway station supply closet to avoid the anti-Republican demonstrators. The president's brother encountered protesters on their way to join a demonstration outside the exclusive Duquesne Club, where Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican, was holding a fundraiser Friday. Officers used stun guns to subdue two protesters, saying they disobeyed orders to disperse, said Bob Grove, a Port Authority spokesman. "It was a very tense situation. They were very close to the governor and shouting on...

Protesters corner Jeb Bush in Pa. 54 minutes ago Protesters greeted Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on his way to a campaign event for a Pennsylvania senator, and he briefly took refuge in a subway station supply closet to avoid the anti-Republican demonstrators. The president's brother encountered protesters on their way to join a demonstration outside the exclusive Duquesne Club, where Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record), a Republican, was holding a fundraiser Friday. Officers used stun guns to subdue two protesters, saying they disobeyed orders to disperse, said Bob Grove, a Port Authority spokesman. "It was a very tense...

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in town for a fund-raiser for Sen. Rick Santorum, had a close encounter with a large group of anti-Republican protesters as he was making his way to the Duquesne Club, Downtown. It was about 4:15 yesterday when Mr. Bush met up with the protesters near the corner of Liberty and Sixth avenues. The protesters were marching to join other pickets already gathered in front of the exclusive club, a little more than a block away at 325 Sixth Ave. Protesters said Gov. Bush blew them a kiss, acknowledging the crowd of about 30 chanting pickets that...

WASHINGTON — You're traveling through another dimension; a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. It's a journey into a wondrous land where the surname Bush is glorious, and whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead -- your next stop, Florida. Older readers will recognize the words above from the introduction to the hit TV show, "The Twilight Zone." Believe it or not, there's a swing state in this country where the name Bush is not a negative. In fact, in this magical place, Republicans clamor to be seen next to this Bush....

TAMPA - A new poll in the Florida governor race shows discouraging news for Democratic candidate Jim Davis, the congressman from Tampa: a 15-point gap between himself and Republican Charlie Crist, the state's attorney general, and a relatively little-known name among Florida voters. The poll shows Crist and his running mate, Jeff Kottkamp, leading Davis and running mate Daryl Jones by 51 percent to 36 percent, with 11 percent undecided and other candidates totaling 2 percent. That means Davis has a lot of ground to make up on Crist and comparatively little time before the Nov. 7 election and with...

Dateline 20 September 2006 In less than two months time America will elect the last Congress of George W Bush’s Presidency, and more than half the states – including New York – will elect a governor. New York is one of the states with an open gubernatorial election, so even if the result was in doubt we could still be sure the state was getting a new governor. In mid-term elections I like to list the gubernatorial candidates I believe most deserve to win and those who most deserve to lose. Four years ago the results – when compared with...

Today the President was in Florida attending GOP fund raisers, he also thanked the Senate for Agreement on Pending War on Terror Legislation and also visited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team's training camp in Tampa, Florida. He then returned to Washington. The First Lady and Pakistan's first lady Begum Sehba Musharraf take part in the launch of a new website, Gift of the Indus: The Arts & Culture of Pakistan at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addresses the United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of...

MIAMI -- The race for governor comes down to a Democrat who has railed against the Tallahassee establishment and Gov. Jeb Bush's policies versus a Republican who supports Bush in many ways, but isn't afraid to buck his party to side with the popular sentiment among voters. Attorney General Charlie Crist began his general election campaign with the overwhelming backing of Republican voters while U.S. Rep. Jim Davis failed to win over half the Democrats casting ballots in what was essentially a two-person race. "It's going to be a competitive, interesting race, but clearly Crist starts off with a major...