Jeb Bush met with House budget chief

When former Gov. Jeb Bush was in Tallahassee on Wednesday, he spent two hours getting a briefing from his former budget director Mike Hansen, a House budget chief headed to be the chief of staff for incoming House Speaker Ray Sansom.

Bush was in Tallahassee Wednesday to address a reunion of his staffers, advisers and supporters at the Governor's Club. Bush talked about the budget briefing and said state government's biggest challenge was dealing with the austere and difficult budget. He warned that outside groups shouldn't go asking for new spending, because there were going to be some "tough decisions" this year.

Bush also talked about the U.S. economy and stressed that the United States is "interdependent" on other economies around the world. He talked about the need to support economies in Europe and Asia as a way of getting through this period of financial instability. He also that, domestically, Americans were just going to have to behave differently and try to save more and borrow less.

He didn't say much about Gov. Charlie Crist, except that he thinks it's appropriate that he's quietly remained on the sidelines rather than throwing his two cents in. He also didn't talk about his brother's administration.

He let slip that he and Columba were no longer living in the Coral Gables condo and were now renting a house in a nice neighborhood, close to the Miami International Airport. He said he spends a lot of time at the airport on route to give speeches on a variety of topics, including the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit he started aimed at improving classroom education.

About 100 people showed up for the reunion, including: Sally Bradshaw, Mark Kaplan, Cory Tilly, Patricia Levesque, David Griffin, Chris Dudley, Greg Turbeville, Alia Faraj, Kristy Campbell, Albert Martinez, Steve Uhlfelder, Fred Dickinson, Martha Pratt, Stephanie Kopelousos, Slater Bayliss, Jason Unger and judges Brad Thomas and Paul Hawkes.

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Comments

Why is Jeb wasting my tax dollars getting briefed, when he can just go to his older bro and the geniuses that put us in this mess?

[True Blue]

BEWARE:THE OLD MAN(AND HIS SIDEKICK SARA FAILIN)COMMETH TO TAKE YOURCHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN AWAY TO DIE IN A WAR!!! AND NOW THE IDIOTS BROTHER JEB IS STICKING HIS TWO CENTS IN.

Hey 2:14,

Unlike your special ed teacher, Jeb's visit didn't cost a dime of taxpayers' money. So go somewhere else with your anti-Bush insanity.

less than 8 minutes - any time Jeb is mentioned, people start slitting their wrists... its funny to watch

[Bush League]

The Bush name and Legacy will always be associated with failure.

Big brother George Bush has ruined the name for at least the next 100 years.

What time was the meeting?

Who of the 100 are still on the public payroll?

Did he apologize for his insane liquor, corporate, and intangibles tax cuts that have helped to strangle the budget?

Did he apologize for helping to rig the election of 2000, which led to the worse eight years in modern history!

Did he apologize for his pathetic governing of Lehman Brothers as a member of their board?

Or rather, the company formerly known as Lehman Brothers.

Will Jeb donate his salary from Lehman to stockholders or company secretaries?

Jeb Bush...best FL governor ever.

4:08 - not to worry, when Obama gets elected, he will be sure to take Jeb's, your and my salary to give to others...

Jeb Bush...worst FL governor ever.
George W…. worst President ever.

… Herbert and Babs must be horribly depressed by now... we all know America is.

Governor Bush was not on Lehman's Board -- get your facts straight.

Governor Bush was owned by Lehman's... nuff said!

hmmmmmmm

we hate bushes -- all of them have scr ewe d with us for toooooooooooo long

[Gator(R)]

Jeb was a good Governor, very bright, great memory, worked hard to know all the issues, usually knew as much about an issue as the lobbyists, and I think he tried to do the right thing by the state. Arrogance and aloofness may have hurt people

Governor Bush was not just Florida's best Governor, he was one of the best Governors in American History.

where's my damn high speed train jeb!

yo 5 'oclock, my man! give me some of that fancy stuff you must be smokin'!!!

share, share -- it's only fair!

Where is gulpity when you need him or her?

[Gator(R)]

forgot to finish my 4:59???

..people's impression of him. No gulpity - not very effective to anonomously suck up - and he isn't running for anything, so I can't be a McBushy - he worked hard, knew his stuff, can't deny that.

If memory serves me correctly, JB left office with a 60% approval rating, an $8 billion rainy day fund, and a state with a AAA financial rating. He also dealt competantly with 8 hurricanes in '04-'05. Did he make mistakes during his two terms? Of course. I wish my wife and I could use light rail to visit grandkids in Lakeland or to go to the airport. I wish teachers earned more money. (My wife taught and two of our sons are teachers.) But FL is a difficult state to govern and tough choices must be made. Now, pls bear with me while I tell you the real reason for writing this. I retired 8 yrs ago at age 57 with a crippling disease called dystonia. With time on my hands, I decided to email Gov. Bush with ideas about how to solve various problems in the state. I began with investment fraud against the elderly. JB replied. Thus began a 7 yr correspondence that continues to this day. Hundreds of exchanges regarding dozens of issues--some important, some not. Most exchanges occurred before 7:30 a.m. on all seven days of the week. JB loves ideas--even dumb ones, I'm persuaded. He is the most itellectually curious person I've ever met. And believe me, he can take criticism. If anyone got hot, it was me. Let me conclude with this: Jeb Bush grew in office. The more suffering he saw, the more he wanted to do something about it. The more injustices, ditto. Steps were taken to combat elderly investment fraud. Medical research became a top priority. It became impossible for a student to graduate from high school without being able to read. Earmarks from powerful state legislators were challenged and usually chopped. And after leaving office, Jeb raised beaucoup bucks for dystonia research. (If interested, pls see TylersHope.org.) I hope readers now understand a little more about Jeb Bush and why I love the guy. Dave Jonsson

[EXPAT]

7:46 - Had to google dystonia. Doesn't sound like fun. The Jeb I remember was a very complex person. I, too, know of things he did from the goodness of his heart - no cameras, no reporters - that made a difference. On the other hand, I think his impatience with incompetence (the department of education jumps to mind) left something to be desired. I wish he had been more bipartisan. He sometimes put people in jobs because they were Republicans - not because they were good at what he was having them do. That never works. I guess that I admire him as a person but as a governor, I'm not as positive.

Get out of town Jeb. You are not the Governor anymore. Thank God. State workers are still trying to do their jobs after you gutted their budgets. You gave big contracts to your buddies.

Why does an ex Governor still get a budget briefing?

We should have more public officials who are impatient with incompetence. Seems like a big part of the mess we're in now is that too many of our elected officials are too patient with incompetence.

[BlueFlorida2008]

To anyone still thinking of voting for McCain please google "The McCain-Palin Mob" or "The Sidewalk to Nowhere" and watch the YouTube videos. These are REAL McCain supporters waiting in line for his events! Are these the sort of people you want to be aligned with? Some of the things they say are downright frightening considering the history of extremist behavior in this country. This is getting out of control and I hope McCain stops it before its too late.

[Jason Straight]

Why not continue to dream!Your hero jeb.He was much smarter than W and truly more evil..Hes gone on corporate boards like his bro will .This family has devastated this nation and has become Billionairs thru the Carlyle Group.Hes not the village idiot like W but he is evil thru and thru,He wont be getting an invite to the Obama Event.He will be in Hialeah with his Right wing Cubanos countin money!Old news you wont see him no more..

JEB like his brother was a loser.

[Bush your name casts a bad odor across the entire globe.]

Can the Bush name be any more toast? Even McCain tries to distance himself from the Bush policies that have ruined our economy and threaten to turn us into the Corporate States of America. Tries, unsuccessfully, but very vigorously.

5 o'clock, nut'n', man, it's 4:20!!

Jeb Bush can proudly stand on his record. Vitriol posted here against him and his family is misguided.

Whether you agree with him or not, he was the most dedicated governor who sought and achieved bold changes for the betterment of Florida. You always knew where he stood on the issues.

One can vivdly remember his tremendous leadership and preparation during the string of (8) EIGHT hurricanes and rapid response and organization he implemented during these diastrous storms in our state.

How quicky some forget that Florida LED the nation in jobs and economic growth and we were the envy of the nation.

Leadership flows from the top down.

Florida History 101

Governor in Chief

Jeb Bush's remarkable eight years of achievement in Florida.

by Fred Barnes
06/12/2006, Volume 011, Issue 37

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/293ppytu.asp

[terminator]

how many greedy lobbyists and corporate w*ore mongers were there to line Jeb's pockets with contributions for his foundations?
none I bet since the drunk from Crawford is two months away from becoming the worst president in the history of the US (even behind US Grant) and Jeb's buddies from Lehman are toast.
LOL!!!!!

Ps wonder how many earmarks Jeb and his wingnut buddies are trying to slip into the budget?

[Gator(R)]

Jason - Your blanket condemnation of Jeb is totally misguided and ill informed. Like any of us he made mistakes - when you make as many decisions as you have to being Governor you are going to. And you are going to tick some people off regardless of your decision.

FEA hated him, but school spending (in real dollars) went up under Bush on Education, not so for Lawton. Salaries for State workers went up more under Bush as well (maybe more thanks to Legislature than Bush), but he didn't veto them. Service First, made us all pucker intially, but ultimately impact on those moved to SES was positive.

At worst he was a competent Governor,at best a very good Governor, saying he was 'evil' is just stupid.

And all the comments on earmarks - research how much money Graham has received over the years to not grow anything on his farm land. And I think Graham was a good Governor too, better administratively than Bush, maybe not on policy.

Graham was a good Governor, but keep in mind that FL had half the population and less diversity during his time--no hurricanes either. And termie, your emotional rants are unehelpful. Do you know what facts are?

[Jason Straight]

Gator R Jeb bush is a Crook.Follow the stories of how he and Armado Codina a billionaire raided the RTC with the help of political contacts..Find out about the Broward Federal deal that gave Bush and Codina a free office Bldg on Brickell Ave..there are many more stories but now that hes gone thank god !

Let's not forget that Jeb! went from governor to Lehman Brothers private equity advisor, and his cousin George Walker was head of the bank's asset management business.

Great management team, wouldn't you say?

Some of us might call them looters.

For the home-schooled crowd:

Looter -
–noun
1. spoils or plunder taken by pillaging, as in war.
2. anything taken by dishonesty, force, stealth, etc.: a burglar's loot.
3. a collection of valued objects: The children shouted and laughed as they opened their Christmas loot.
4. Slang. money: You'll have a fine time spending all that loot.
5. act of looting or plundering: to take part in the loot of a conquered city.
–verb (used with object)
6. to carry off or take (something) as loot: to loot a nation's art treasures.
7. to despoil by taking loot; plunder or pillage (a city, house, etc.), as in war.
8. to rob, as by burglary or corrupt activity in public office: to loot the public treasury.
–verb (used without object)
9. to take loot; plunder: The conquerors looted and robbed.

[Timing is Everything]

I wonder how much of a "great governor" ole Jeb would be if he was in office NOW after his brother ran the economy in the ground for 8 years.

Lucky for Jeb Bill Clinton had been in office long enough to turn things around after Bush One tanked the economy with his tax breaks and corporate giveaways.

From the '94 election forward Bill Clinton had a new majority Republican Congress that Newt Gingrich ushered (led) in with the Contract with America.

Put the credit where it's due on the economy it was not Bill Clinton; it was Congress.

Fact Check.

If Obama is elected with a Democractic majority, God forbid, we will look on the diastrous administraion of Jimmy Carter with great fondness. Does anyone remember the gas lines and gas rationing? The stature the U.S. had in foreign policy as an international disgrace? Interest rates approaching 20%.

The mindless supporters of Obama remind me of the old Sci Fi movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers. He has accomplished nothing.

Obama did not even author ONE bill as a state senator for 8 years. What kind of leadership is that from a state senator? Do not be duped by the Main Stream Media. Sure he's an orator but he is a socialist philosphically and has no core moral convictions. None.

Watch Sean Hannity tonight at 9 p.m.

12:50 Jeb Bush was an excellent governor(the best in FL), but more importantly, he was a leader. He had convictions. Jeb not only envisioned bold policy and legislation for Florida, he drove it and signed it into law. Florida's best years.

The facts are everything.

The only Jeb! conviction I want has yet to be metted out.

Sean Hannity and Fox Spews is for Tarded people.

Fox has admitted in a court case that they are not required to tell the truth in their "News" cast.
"Tarded and Unbalanced" is their motto.

[Clyde]

Jeb, GO AWAY!!

Darryl Rouson said he was a Jeb! kind of Republican. Nice house, Darryl.

Is Jeb the Speaker of the House now? I thought Hansen works for Sansom.

[Watchit]

Jeb was in Tallahasse to ensure the Republican slush fiund, known as Florida Forever wouldnt be affected by this 'hiccup" in the economy. He wouldnt want his developer friends and major donors like Mori Hosseini not to get their annual million dollars worth of "development entitlements" that were granted this year to not be bought back by taxpayers next year.