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Subscribe to RSSFormer Florida Governor Jeb Bush said the 2012 election would have been a good time for him to run politically, but he personally is not ready to have made a run for office.
TAMPA, Fla. – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Sunday that he’s “not motivated” to seek the White House and follow in the footsteps of his presidential brother and father.
Bush, whom many Republicans had implored to run for president this year, acknowledged on “Meet the Press” that 2012 would have offered a prime opportunity for him to seek the Republican presidential nomination.
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But Bush, who had been scheduled to speak here on Monday night of the Republican National Convention before weather forced the cancelation of that day’s activities, would not rule out a future run for president, though he did not seem eager to do so.
“I don't think about it. I'm not motivated by it. It takes an incredible amount of discipline and ambition,” Bush told moderator David Gregory.
“I'm not there yet in my life,” the former Florida governor added.
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Jeb Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, served as president of the United States from 1989-1993, and his brother, George W. Bush, served as president from 2001-2009.
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Sorry Jeb, but your brother already burned that bridge.
Jeb here is a newsflash for you...we don't care if you are ready or not! We will never be ready for you! Take your money and go to the Caymans with Romney and Ryan, please.
Do us all a favor and just stay home so the world can be in a better place.
No more:
as presidents, please.
We as Americans, can't afford another worthless republican Bush. No thank you. Do the math have any of them really done anything positive for our country?????NO
Had to put up with him as governor for 8 yrs. Fl also had a surplus when he took over. Like his brother he squandered it. Had rumored affairs , a druggie daughter , 2 errant sons, all of which were not talked about as being his private business. Of course at that dismissal, the press backed off. Just a coincidence that the 2000 election for his brother hinged on the controversial results of the state in which he happened to be governor?? I think not. Not to mention his nasty disposition. Surely this country can come up with something better than this for a potential candidate.
Obviously, you didn't watch the clown show Republicans put on before they settled on Mitt Romney, did you?
I voted for the father; I voted for the eldest son for his first term; I will not vote for a Bush again. Never forget the damage that Bush Jr. and Cheney did to this proud country.
So, since you voted for both previous Bushes you are partly responsible for the damage they did to "this proud country." Thanks!
I don't know if I could vote for a Bush for president. I certainly haven't so far and consider the last one to be the most damaging president of modern times. Having said that, I think Jeb is far more inelligent, less extreme and has much greater depth as a person than George W. Unfortunately for our country, we got the wrong brother.
I do not blame Jeb Bush. The Republican Presidential candidates made a mockery of the Republican Party. Jeb Bush will know when it is time. He may be the person to save the Republicans from their destruct ions.
When Romney wins, the indictments for Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd, will follow. The melt-down of Fannie and Freddie, and nothing to do with any Bush policy. If your brain-washing says otherwise, then name the policy as a mechanism that was the cause. Best of luck. Sub-Primes are an invention of Clinton and Carter Policy.
All these Syrian rebels are coming across huge cashes of WMD. Defectors from the Syrian military say there are from Iraq. Move there by Russia Spetsnaz prior to the invasion.
The defectors also say that Iraq's nuclear program as transferred. It led to the development of Syria's first reactor which Israel took under operation Orchade.
Then you find out from CNN that 550 metric tons of yellow cake was found in Iraq. The centrifuges that made the material where the very same that were transferred to Syria.
It is a deep and wicked web that took down a President, Democrats know of this as far back as 2003. Even some Republicans.
The truth about what really happened during the Bush years will come out.
Other indictments will follow.
Not related, but Holder will be on top of the list, the President should be indicted, but will get a pass like Nixon.
From the moment Bush entered the WH, he was pushing his American Dream Downpayment initiative. From a radio address to the nation in June, 2001, just six months after Bush took office:
For instance, while the rate of homeownership amongst all Americans is nearly 68 percent, the rate among African-American and Hispanic families is under 50 percent. One particular program, the American Dream Downpayment Fund, will provide $200 million in downpayment assistance to help 130,000 low-income families buy homes.
Less than a year later in March, 2002:
I commend Chairman Oxley, Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Roukema, and Congressman Green, for introducing H.R. 3995, the "Housing Affordability for America Act of 2002" and look forward to working with them on the bill in the legislative process. Increasing housing opportunities for all Americans is a high priority for my Administration. In particular, I am committed to increasing the opportunities for minority families to become homeowners.
Please note the sponsors of this bill: Oxley and Roukema were both staunch Republicans. Although this bill was never enacted into law it is obvious that Republicans in 2002, urged on by President Bush, are making minority home ownership a top priority.
Also in June, 2002, in a speech given at a church in Atlanta, Georgia, Bush provided more details about how he was going to increase minority home ownership:
And so by the year 2010, we must increase minority home owners by at least 5.5 million.
First, the single greatest barrier to first time homeownership is a high downpayment. It is really hard for many, many, low income families to make the high downpayment. And so that's why I propose and urge Congress to fully fund the American Dream Downpayment Fund. This will use money, taxpayers' money to help a qualified, low income buyer make a downpayment.
... to streamline the process, make the rules simpler, so everybody understands what they are -- makes the closing much less complicated. We certainly don't want there to be a fine print preventing people from owning their home. We can change the print, and we've got to.
And we want to fully implement the Section 8 housing program, homeownership program. The program will provide vouchers that first-time home buyers can use to help pay their mortgage or apply to their downpayment.
Do you get that? Bush wanted to take Section 8 renters and help them buy homes! People who couldn't afford their own rent - how the hell were they going to pay for a house?
You will note that the quotes above refer to the American Dream Downpayment Fund. This fund was established by the American Dream Downpayment Act, passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by George W. Bush in 2003. Here is a copy of the fact sheet that was passed out before the speech announcing the push for this legislation one year before it was passed. Note that these are things that had already been done to make minority homeownership easier:
The Administration also implemented a hybrid Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) product that makes it easier for new homebuyers to stay in their homes in the first few years.
Substantially increasing, by at least $440 billion, the financial commitment made by the government-sponsored enterprises involved in the secondary mortgage market specifically targeted toward the minority market.
Both ARMs and the secondary mortgage market were indicted as key factors in the housing meltdown by most economists.
All legislation is documented on government websites. Look up the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI); it is quite interesting. Note that the single biggest thing this bill accomplished was to drop the downpayment requirement for GSE (Fannie Mae, Freddi Mac and FHA) sponsored loans to 3%. One of the largest factors in the housing bubble and mortage meltdown was the proliferation of low/no downpaynment loans:
American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) - signed into law on Dec 16, 2003.
Sponsor: Sen. Wayne Allard [R-CO]
Co-sponsors: Samuel Brownback [R-KS]; Conrad Burns [R-MT]; Ben Campbell [R-CO]; Michael Crapo [R-ID]; Michael Enzi [R-WY]; Charles Hagel [R-NE]; Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]; Richard Santorum [R-PA]; Jefferson Sessions [R-AL]
Note that there was not one Democrat co-sponsoring this bill. The bill was sponsored by a Republican, co-sponsored only by other Republicans, passed by a Republican majority in the House and Senate and signed into law by a Republican president.
Republicans in general and George W. Bush in particular are responsible for the entire mortgage meltdown! The last thing this country needs is Republicans back in power to do it all again!
Wrong. ADDI is nothing to with a sub-prime numbskull. And only 4000 people took advantage of it. It only helps with a down payment. Your an idiot.
You need an education on what a sub-prime is:
A subprime mortgage/www.investopedia.com/terms/s/subprime_mortgage.asp> is a type of loan granted to individuals with poor credit histories (often below 600), who, as a result of their deficient credit ratings/www.investopedia.com/terms/c/creditrating.asp>, would not be able to qualify for conventional mortgages. Because subprime borrowers present a higher risk for lenders, subprime mortgages charge interest rates above the prime lending rate/www.investopedia.com/terms/p/primerate.asp>.
ADDI also had nothing to do with Fannie and Freddie buying up all those toxic assets.
Who in the blue blazes do you think monitors conditions in the Banking and Finance sectors of the economy to ensure that citizens are not harmed? He is a hint, it is not the President. It is done in the congress, by a committee. Who the chairs of those committees at the time of the melt down? Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.
Government regulations precluded Fannie and Freddie from buying mortgages that didn't meet downpayment and credit requirements. However, as the mortgage market changed, so did their business. Between 2005-2007, few of the mortgages acquired were conventional,fixed-interest loans with 20% down.
Fannie Mae's loan acquisitions were:
62% negative amortization
84% interest only
58% subprime
62% required less than 10% downpayment.
Freddie Mac's loans were even more risky, consisting of:
72% negative amortization
97% interest only
67% subprime
68% required less than 10% downpayment.
It was the preponderance of exotic loans in addition to subprime borrowers that made Fannie and Freddie's loan acquisitions so toxic.
Now explain how ADDI forced Fannie and Freddie to buy these? How did ADDi cause the Housing bubble to burst?
YOU sir and brain-washed.
A bipartisan Congressional report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the subprime mortgage crisis released in 2009 (summary here: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32615):
• Lower down-payments led to housing prices that outpaced income growth: Once government-sponsored efforts to decrease down payments spread to the wider market, home prices became increasingly untethered from any kind of demand limited by borrowers’ ability to pay. Instead, borrowers could just make smaller down payments and take on higher debt, allowing home prices to continue their unrestrained rise. (p. 11)
• Members of an “affordable housing” coalition shared profits with political allies to help legitimize their business practices: Fannie Mae created and used The Fannie Mae Foundation to spread millions of dollars around to politically-connected organizations like the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. It also hired well-known academics to give an aura of academic rigor to policy positions favorable to Fannie Mae. (p.7)
• The Government Sponsored Enterprises led the way into the housing crisis: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were leaders in risky mortgage lending. According to an analysis presented to the Committee, between 2002 and 2007, Fannie and Freddie purchased $1.9 trillion of mortgages made to borrowers with credit scores below 660, one of the definitions of “subprime” used by federal banking regulators. This represents over 54% of all such mortgages purchased during those years. (p.24)
Bush is playing both sides right now. He is largely being a dutiful surrogate, but at the same time he is slyly slipping in his own position on policies.
When Romney loses, he can wait a couple of years, and then come out in 2014 and say "I told you so. Now how about some sanity." On the 1 in 3 chance that Romney wins, he can still say he went out stumped for Pres. Romney.
Nice play Bush. I am pretty sure some of the big names in the GOP are horrified at the mess Romney is making of this campaign. The establishment GOP pols probably hate the guy.
Please, no more "Bushies" in the White House! #2 almost ran the country into the ground making up for the unfinished Iraq business of Dad.
"Almost" ran the country into the ground? I'd say he succeeded in running our country into the ground, and took as much of the rest of the world with it as he could!
We know what happened in the past with his older brother. I can't imagine anyone would be obtuse enough to vote for another Bush sibling but hey....voting machines can always be rigged and Supreme Court judges always be bought.
But i tell you, the question is where is the bushman. What is he doing. Will he speak at the rnc convention. I tell you, the romney man & st paul are trying soooo hard to distance themselves from the bushman. It's like the guy is toxic. They cannot seem to get far enough away from the bushman. But i tell you they will be following the same philosophy, the same actions as the bushman.
But what can you say. You can tell mr grover, the gop, the rushbo, & foxnews.com are ideologues. They have difficulty with the facts and the truth. It's why they have problems with science - the branch of knowledge dealing with the body of facts and truths. They have a war on science, the truth, and the facts. So be careful of what they will tell you. They have a culture of lies.
And what is action #1. No taxes for the wealthy. Sure the bushman created huge deficits, especially when he sent troops to afghanistan and iraq and still did not increase taxes. Took the cash from social security & medicare. In fact he decreased taxes. But mr grover, the gop, the rushbo, & foxnews.com continue that policy today. Creating huge, huge deficits. And guess what, the romney man & st paul plans to continue the same thing indefinitely. They will never tell you that. Even st paul's past budgets and future proposed budgets show huge deficits for at least the next 16 years. It's only obama says that taxes need to be raised. Sure it isn't popular. But only obama's budget shows a balance of income & expenditure. The romney man & st paul are the same puppets as the bushman was before.
When did running the USA become a game show? What this person should be talking about is how much the storm is going to damage his state. Bait and switch.
There are ugly and vial Republicans. Jeb Bush by no means is one of them. Pete Hoekstra is the worst.
"There are ugly and vial Republicans. Jeb Bush by no means is one of them." Oh yes he is!
Why? Because is last name is Bush. Of course.
Not because his last name is Bush. He's an ugly and vial Republican first, because he's a Republican, and second because he's a blood relative of George. That's enough for me!
Alfred E. Newman would be better than Jeb Bush.
thanks jeb, now go away!!!
Alfred E. Newman would be better than Jeb Bush.
Let's hope that Jeb never "gets there"! Two Bushes were bad enough for the country.
My God, hasn't this family done enough damage to the US and the rest of the world already?
Another Bush? Why because the last two were so terrific? I hate the thought of American political dynasties..... In a population of 314 million, I am SURE there are other people available than these jacks we've been promoting as cream of the crop.
Yeah, we have one more Bush to contend with. I have heard that Jebby is dumber than "W". This country doesn't need another Bush to start another war. We have to contend with getting rid of Mitt Bush and Paul Palin this November. This country would be better off to get rid of any Republican threat of war for the next 100 years.
OBAMA/BIDEN for the best road to progress---Mitt the Twitt /Paul Palin to return to the 40's
Why oh why can't the Republican Party come up with or put forward a candidate that has the chops to be the Potus? Come on righties, change course, give us someone with real heart and an honest agenda for ALL Americans.
Really?
You should be concerned about your side's plan...
Sorry, Jeb, but the world has moved on from the Bush monkies.
oh, god, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
If your name is Bush you will never be there you GOP scum bag!!
The GOP is the Tea Party!!
Obama/Biden-2012