Jeb Bush gets feisty

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: July 9, 2009

We talked a few weeks back about former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the impact he could make on the 2012 presidential race.

Could we have a tiny sign that he’s headed in that direction?

Jeb made news today wth his response to a reporter’s question about whether he thinks President Obama is a “socialist.“

From CNN:

“I don’t know. Define socialism for me,“ he told Esquire magazine. “It’s a word… I believe he’s a collectivist. He believes that through collective action, through government, you can solve more problems.“ He added that he believed the word “socialism” was a pejorative, and “didn’t help” the GOP make its case.

And as far as approval ratings, Jeb says simply, “Who cares?“

As I have said before, Jeb is a great communicator. See how he refuses to let the questioner dictate the terms of the conversation? He avoids calling the president a socialist, but he goes ahead and makes his point in a way that won’t obscure it.

There’s more to Jeb this. He’s a big-idea guy. He is a visionary. Even more, he has a record of turning those big ideas into policy. He’s just the kind of person the Republicans are going to need to go toe-to-toe with Obama.

Just for fun, compare these comments from Jeb to some of the things you’ve heard, oh, for example, Sarah Palin say about the president.

If you were in the political minority, who would you want out in front, carrying your banner, making a serious case against the majority?

Yeah. Me too.