PUNTA GORDA
It was clear from the start that onetime Gov. Jeb Bush was not going to announce his candidacy for the White House at a seafood restaurant in Punta Gorda on Wednesday.
“I’m not going to make a decision until later this year,” Bush said in front of Laishley’s Crab House, at the mouth of the Peace River, on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Charley’s landfall here.
Still, if there was anything that could be gleaned of Bush’s future from his two hours in Charlotte County, it was his seemingly unquenchable thirst to be around public policy, even if not directly involved in it.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam visited Punta Gorda on Wednesday. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)
Bush easily slid into a full-throttle defense of standardized testing in schools, his frustration at immigration reform failures in Congress, his worries about Florida becoming the “pot capital of the world,” and his unwavering support of traditional marriage.
Much as he did while serving as Florida’s governor from 1998 to 2006, Bush, 61, showed little need for talking points or staying “on message,” even if it might put him at odds with some in his own party.
And he made clear he loved his old job, which gave him an outlet for his public policy impulses.
“I had a blast being governor,” Bush said. “It was a really great experience. I recommend it highly to people who aren’t governors.”
While his stops with emergency personnel and business leaders in Punta Gorda centered around the Charley anniversary, it was hard to escape the questions about his future.
Unlike most of the other potential Republican candidates weighing White House runs in 2016, Bush has credibility with the Hispanic community by virtue of his fluency in Spanish, a track record of running one of the largest states in the U.S. — one with a diverse population — national name recognition and a major headstart in carrying this most critical swing state.
But as appealing as he might be in a general election, political insiders worry about whether a GOP contender who helped develop the concept of Common Core education standards and calls for immigration reform can survive a GOP primary in 2016.
‘In my soul’
Bush’s visit to Charlotte brought him back to some of his most trying, yet fulfilling, days as Florida’s 43rd governor.
When Hurricane Charley drilled Florida’s west coast in August 2004, Bush found his state again staggered by a major hurricane. Emergency operation centers were made inoperable, special-needs shelters had proven insufficient and downed communications systems made coordinating recovery difficult in the hours after the storm.
But that season, which saw three more storms hit the state, is past. Bush said Florida’s emergency operations centers can now withstand hurricanes, special-needs shelters are better equipped, and emergency generators are standard.
“We’ve made the necessary commitment to this,” Bush said of the state’s approach to hurricanes.
Despite the devastation of the storms that hit Florida that year, Bush said the spirit of the people as they fought to recover “is in my soul.”
He said one of the unforgettable moments of his life is the night he ran onto the field on Oct. 29, 2004, before the Port Charlotte vs. Charlotte High football game, wearing a T-shirt that read: “Divided by a river, united by a storm.”
“In my highlight reel for my life is flipping the coin at the beginning of the football game where this community got together,” Bush said.
He said that while some thought it would take as much as six months to reopen schools, there they were two months later — both high schools up and running once more.
“It was the most tangible symbol of recovery and resiliency,” Bush said, smiling at the memory. “It was so uplifting.”
On the issues
The visit was more than a walk down memory lane for Bush. Even when he was not directly asked about politics, Bush could not resist jumping into today’s hottest debates.
During an informal discussion with business leaders, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam lamented the failure by Congress to fix the immigration system for legal farmworkers needed for one of the state’s most critical industries.
“It’s kind of frustrating,” Bush said, almost unprompted. “We can’t fix our illegal immigration system until we fix our legal one.”
Bush said that if the work visa programs were improved, making it easier for legal workers to get here, it would help stem the illegal flow. He said the nation has to make the legal system easier to navigate than the illegal one, otherwise people will continue to choose the illegal route.
During a conversation on the state’s beauty and vastness, Bush seemed to take a shot at the November ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana.
“Hopefully we won’t become the pot capital of the world,” Bush said.
Later, in an interview with reporters, Bush continued on with advice to President Barack Obama’s administration on how to handle the flood of children from Central America coming across the border this summer.
He said officials need to launch a public relations campaign in nations like Guatemala and Honduras warning people against sending their children to the U.S.
He also said the Obama administration should process the children coming to the U.S. while they are being detained, rather than releasing them for immigration hearings many might not attend a year later.
“The whole adjudication process should be done while they’re being detained,” Bush said.
And gay marriage?
“I personally believe that we should have a climate where there’s no discrimination, but that we should uphold and support traditional marriage,” Bush said.
But perhaps no single issue fires up Bush like public education. He defended standardized testing programs and the new national education standards being implemented in Florida.
He said a key part of tracking education gains involves testing, adding that it helps assess how the system is doing. Standards without testing? That shows a lack of commitment to the goals.
“If you don’t measure, you really don’t care,” Bush said.
While Bush clearly is at home talking public policy, he gave little indication that a White House run, or any campaign, is in his future.
He seemed more willing to hint at Putnam being a future candidate for governor than talking about his own ambitions.
Asked how he’ll decide later this year if he’ll run for president, Bush said he’ll consult with family and figure out “can I do it joyfully?”
Former Gov. Jeb Bush and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam spoke in Charlotte
