"What Does Jeb Bush Have?" "Telephone rates and college tuition may go up, state services could be slashed, and lawmakers are mired in personality feuds -- but through it all Gov. Jeb Bush escapes blame. Even when his fellow Republicans in the Legislature earn humiliatingly low ratings, Bush is riding high with some of the most adoring numbers of any second-term governor in the nation. The striking contrast -- 56 percent of registered voters in a Herald poll published Sunday approve of Bush's job performance, while 58 percent object to the performance of his friends in the Legislature -- shows that the Florida governor continues to amass enormous political capital." See "Governor can do no wrong with Florida voters".
Peter Wallsten asks "what does Jeb Bush have that those other guys don't?"
What Does Dubya Have? "He may be Florida's most venerable politician, but even U.S. Sen. Bob Graham doesn't have the juice in his home state to overcome the popularity of a wartime president -- at least not now -- a new poll conducted for The Herald and two other newspapers shows." See "Graham lags behind president in Florida"; see also "Bush would beat Graham today".
What Do "Jeb!" And Dubya Have? The answer is plain: the Bushies have a media, that is:
"SUBSERVIENT, SERVILE, SLAVISH, OBSEQUIOUS mean[ing] showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience. SUBSERVIENT implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position [domestic help was expected to be properly subservient]. SERVILE suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave [a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on]. SLAVISH suggests abject or debased servility. OBSEQUIOUS implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner [waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities]. " Source.
Troxler - "Half-empty, half-full. The voters are disgusted with the Florida Legislature in every way but one. Despite voters' support for smaller class sizes, you have to twist their arms - hard - to find support for higher taxes, even for education. Florida voters are furious at the Legislature for hurting them for the benefit of telephone companies. They want the governor to veto the bill monkeying with Everglades cleanup. They oppose school vouchers as a way of reducing class sizes. But when it comes to taxes, Florida public opinion still runs closer to House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's mantra that the government should "live within its means." See "Voters' voices rise in scabrous disapproval of legislative handiwork".
Dream On - "No child-welfare system is immune to tragedy, but one wonders what it will take for legislators to make more than a sound-bite commitment to their most vulnerable constituents. They must act courageously on the behalf of foster children when the special session begins, or more names of innocent victims will be enshrined in a Florida hall of shame." See "Foster care: Where is the commitment?"