Often, when someone is booked for five Sunday news shows, it means that they’re planning on making a big announcement. So, former Florida governor and double-presidential relative Jeb Bush’s appearances on CBS’s Face the Nation, NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week, CNN’s State of the Union, and Fox News Sunday today all included some discussion about his plans for 2016, though none of them generated any actual information. While he brushed off a question about a potential presidential campaign with a simple “Four years is a long way from now” on Face the Nation, he was a bit more colorful with Meet the Press’s David Gregory. When asked whether he worried about running against protégé Marco Rubio, Bush said, “Man you guys are crack addicts. You really are obsessed with all these politics. Marco Rubio is a great guy.” When Gregory started to respond, saying, “Sir, I’ve been called a lot of things … ” Bush corrected himself, “Okay, heroin addict. Is that better?” Probably not, though it is less funny-sounding.
According to a Bush spokesperson, the “Sunday shows were part of the original media plan the publishers proposed” around the recent release of his new book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution. “I’m not viewing [the book] as a political reentry,” Bush insisted on This Week. “I just don’t view it that way.”
For the moment, at least, Bush says he just wants to be a part of the “renewal of the conservative movement.” On CNN’s State of the Union, he said that the GOP needs to work on an “opportunity society” agenda that’s “more aspirational.” And, of course, he feels that the party needs to fight the impression that “Republicans don’t care about the large number of people.”
However, Bush did allow himself a few on-air thoughts about his chances in 2016. When Fox’s Chris Wallace pointed out a poll that showed that most Americans have unfavorable views of Georges Sr. and W., Jeb countered, “I don’t think there’s any Bush baggage at all. I love my brother. I’m proud of his accomplishments. I love my dad. I’m proud to be a Bush and if I run for president it’s not because of something in my DNA that compels me to do it.”
