US: hits and myths

Republican candidate Jeb Bush could be considered a moderate

FALSE – What kind of president would Jeb Bush be if he were elected to the White House in 2016?

The criticism from America’s most conservative circles is misleading as can be seen with two examples. In late 2014, the influential pundit George Will wrote that Bush’s support for the Common Core initiative — which aims to set the same minimum academic standards (in English and math) across all American schools — would be reason enough not to vote for him. Popular, right-wing radio host Laura Ingraham was equally harsh when, on the eve of an important Republican conference, she said that “Jeb and Hillary could run on the same ticket”.

Even Bush’s political past comes across as more radical than moderate when examined in terms of the platform on which he first unsuccessfully ran for governor of Florida in 1994. The Huffington Post reported that Bush espoused such radical ideas as virtually dismantling the state’s Department of Education and requiring that all proposed new taxes be approved directly by the electorate. Then there is Bush’s legacy after eight years as Florida governor, which includes obstructing public schools, boosting school voucher programmes, substantially scaling back public administration, cutting taxes for the wealthiest Floridians and adopting permissive gun control policies. 

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