MIAMI, USA: Jeb Bush formally declared his White House candidacy on his own on Monday, painting himself as the most suitable leader for the 2016 race insisting that his family name is no privilege for a claim to the Oval Office. Declaring his presidential bid in front of a cheering crowd at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus, Bush vowed to remove capital Washington’s obstacles for rendering good governance and prosperity, saying, “America deserves better.”
As son and brother of former presidents, Jeb shrugged off the dynasty baggage, “not a one of us deserves the job by right of résumé, party, seniority, family or family narrative,” he told a crowd of 3,000 supporters in a community college’s gymnasium. “It’s nobody’s turn. It’s everybody’s test.”
Bush turned his announcement rally into a choreographed reintroduction and did not spare his rivals from both parties. Positioning his image and persona as that of an executive, who is brimming with big ideas and capable of executing them Bush called up all to see his record of achievements in Florida as the governor. His claims go to a taxpayer-financed school voucher program, expansion of charter schools, downsizing the state government and cutting taxes by billions.
Mr. Bush, 62, clad in a light blue button-down shirt was interrupted by frequent applause from supporters who waved signs that read, “Todos por Jeb! They were moved by his polyglot ways with many lines delivered in impeccable Spanish with ample references to his courtship of his Mexican-born wife as a “cross-border outreach, and the crowd cheered lustily.
Jeb Bush, in his speech, did not disown elements of his heritage, yet tried to transcend them by projecting himself as an entrepreneurial figure who struggled on his own to build a vibrant real estate business. On immigration, Bush has endorsed legal status for those immigrants but is against full citizenship as a politically unviable issue at the moment. Clearly, he is toeing a middle path with an eye on both sides-Conservative and Hispanics.