Jeb Bush is pledging to “give it my all” to win the White House in 2016 and become the third member of his family to hold the presidency in the last three decades.
The former two-term Florida governor announced his candidacy Monday from a college gymnasium in his hometown of Miami with a message of optimism and determination after six months of intense preparation for a presidential bid and years of speculation about whether he would follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother — former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush — in seeking the Oval Office.
“In any language, my message will be an optimistic one because I am certain that we can make the decades just ahead in America the greatest time ever to be alive in this world,” Bush, 62, said, according to excerpts of his speech released by his campaign prior to his scheduled afternoon announcement. “That chance, that hope, requires the best that is in us, and I will give it my all.”
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Bush was joined at Miami Dade College by his wife, Columba, his children, their spouses and his grandchildren. Bush’s mother, former first lady Barbara Bush attended, as did his son, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who addressed the crowd before his father took the stage. Also among the warm-up speakers:
• Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, a friend of Bush and Florida advocate for individuals and children with disabilities.
• Former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings
• Florida Sen. Don Gaetz
Bush announced in December that he was considering a run for president, and then embarked on a torrid fundraising schedule, crisscrossing the country to raise tens of millions of dollars for his political action committee and super PAC, both called “Right to Rise.” The super PAC, renamed Right to Rise USA, has since severed ties with Bush to comply with federal law that forbids candidates from coordinating with such outside groups.
RELATED: Jeb stresses compassion, ‘showing his heart’ in campaign rollout
In making his campaign official, Bush is promising to bring to the presidency the same leadership he exercised as Florida governor from 1999 to 2007. He said that the Sunshine State during his tenure was “number one” in the nation in the creation of jobs and small businesses, with residents enjoying higher incomes and a lower tax burden.
“All this plus a bond upgrade to Triple-A compared to the sorry downgrade of America’s credit in these years. That was the commitment, and that is the record that turned this state around,” Bush said, according to the prepared remarks. “I know we can fix this. Because I’ve done it.”
Bush has assembled among the most talented and experienced campaign staffs in a Republican field that is loaded with formidable candidates. His test will be to win over a party in which some voters view him suspiciously. Some are not convinced he’s conservative enough; others worry his last name and familial connections might be a liability in a general election against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, another legacy candidate.
But Bush is determined to run his race his way, focused on positive policy solutions rather than the kind of attacks on President Obama and Clinton, his former secretary of state, that fire up the GOP’s conservative base. Bush was set to hit the ground in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina immediately following his speech. He suggested, however, that his campaigning would not be limited to these crucial battlegrounds.
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“I will campaign as I would serve, going everywhere, speaking to everyone, keeping my word, facing the issues without flinching, and staying true to what I believe,” Bush said. “I will take nothing and no one for granted. I will run with heart. I will run to win. ”
Democrats and their affiliates spent most of Monday attempting to undermine Bush’s record, targeting him both on the grounds that he would be a repeat of his father and brother, who often tried to cast their presidencies as being compassionate, and that as Florida’s governor he was a heartless conservative whom voters should fear.
“What makes the specter of a Jeb Bush presidency even more unpalatable is his belief in his own superiority and infallibility – in my 22 years in elected office I have never worked with someone who is as inflexible, uncompromising, and willing to do whatever it takes to get their way as Jeb Bush,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who is also chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “These are not the qualities Americans need in their president if we are going to work together to get things done.”
Disclosure: The author’s wife works as an adviser to Scott Walker.
