Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush, facing a stiffer challenge than he may have expected in the Republican presidential primary, is seeking to cast himself as a resolute leader with strong convictions ...
unlike all those other flip-floppers in the race. On a conference call with Alabama Republicans:
"I think a lot of leaders in public life or aspiring leaders get overwhelmed by the here and now, they change their views because they’re trying to mirror the sentiments of the time. And they get lost," he said at one point.
And of his own positions on Common Core and immigration reform, sticking points for some Republican voters:
Bush said he welcomed the opportunity to explain his views on both subjects "because I find it interesting that people who share that view -- rather than stick with the view and try to persuade people about it -- in many cases have actually abandoned their views. I think the next president is going to have tougher times dealing with these issues than dealing with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. If we're going to bend with the wind, then it'll be hard to imagine how we solve our problems."
That could be seen as a knock on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who have both distanced themselves from previous advocacy for bipartisan immigration reform.
We know that Scott Walker plans to deal with Putin by busting American unions, so maybe he can apply that same plan to immigration reform, somehow. But it sounds like Bush isn't going to be able to stay quite as far above the fray as he'd planned. And if he wants to drop this vague nudge-nudge way of slamming his opponents and get really dirty, his family certainly has experience with that.