Likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said over the weekend that he had learned how to protect the United States by observing his brother's presidency, and how George W. Bush handled the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that occurred on his watch.
During an interview that aired on Sunday, CBS News host Bob Schieffer asked Bush if he felt like overcoming George W. Bush's legacy was his "main challenge" in running for president.
"No, I don't," the potential candidate insisted. "This is hard for me to be honest with you. I have to do the Heisman on my brother that I love, you know? This is not something I'm comfortable doing. But I'm my own person. I have my own life experience, and I will be successful if I'm a candidate when I share my heart and I talk about what I've done as governor of the state, where I cut taxes, reduced the state government workforce by 11 percent, moved the state to a AAA bond rating."
"As I tell that story, people will begin to say, 'Yeah, look, he's a Bush, that's fine, but I'm for him because he has ideas that will help me rise up,'" he continued. "So, my brother is not going to be a problem at all. I seek out his advice. I love him dearly. I've learned from his successes and his mistakes."
Schieffer pressed Bush to detail what he had learned from his brother.
"Well, the successes clearly are protecting the homeland," the former Florida governor opined. "We were under attack, and he unified the country, and he showed dogged determination, and he kept us safe."
"And you know, you can talk about a lot of stuff, but when you're president of the United States and you're confronted with that kind of event, to respond the way he did is admirable," Bush said. "And I've learned from that."
As far as George W. Bush's mistakes go, his brother said that he had learned to keep the "reins on spending" while waging wars.
"Because of the war and because of the focus on protecting the homeland, he let the Republican Congress get a little out of control in terms of the spending," Bush pointed out.
