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Jeb Bush said Wednesday that running in 2016 as the son and brother of former presidents will be “an interesting challenge” and that he must establish himself as his “own person” in order to win.
“I love my brother,” the former Florida governor said of George W. Bush during a question-and-answer session following a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. “I think he’s been a great president. It doesn’t bother me a bit to be proud of them and love them, but I know for a fact that if I’m going to be successful … then I’m going to have to do it on my own.”
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Bush is actively moving toward a bid for the Republican nomination, though he said in Detroit that he has not formally decided. One of the biggest knocks on him, including from the right, is that he is a legacy to a dynasty.
With Mitt Romney’s withdrawal from the contest last week, Bush is now the only truly wealthy figure in the top-tier of the GOP field. The 61-year-old said he recognizes that being rich and powerful can make some people suspicious of whether he truly cares about them.
He tried to address this issue head on in one of his first major public appearances since expressing interest in the presidency, likening the experience of running for president in 2016 to unsuccessfully running for governor in 1994. His dad was less than two years out of office, and his brother was running for governor of Texas simultaneously.
“I had these deeply held views about education, but people didn’t connect with me,” Bush recalled. “So when the attacks started, they didn’t shrug their shoulders. That’s a problem in politics: you’ve got to care for people before you can get their vote.”
Bush ran again four years later and won.
“In 1998, I had the same views about education but I went to visit 250 schools,” he said. “Trust me, by the end of that journey people that I knew wasn’t just the brother of George W. and the son of my beloved dad. I was my own person. I earned it by working hard to connect with people on a level that truly mattered.”
“So that experience on a national scale has got to be part of the strategy,” he said.
Bush conceded that there are definite advantages that come from his family name. “On one level, I’ve had a front row seat to watch history unfold,” he said. “It’s given me some perspectives that are helpful.”
“But on another level,” he went on, “I know it’s an interesting challenge for me. If I have any degree of self-awareness, this would be the place where it might want to be applied.”
The crowd laughed. “If I was to go beyond the consideration of running, I would have to deal with this and turn this fact into an opportunity to share who I am, to connect on a human level with people and offer ideas that are important to people,” he continued. “So that when they think of me they think that I am on their side, that I care about them and that the issues I’m passionate about will help them rise up.”
Jeb Bush assured the crowd that, if he runs, he will “share my heart.”
“I love my dad,” he said. “In fact, my dad is the greatest man alive. If anyone disagrees, we’ll go outside. Unless you’re like 6’5 and 250 [pounds]] and much younger than me. Then we’ll negotiate. I’ll still not change my mind, for sure.”
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