MIAMI (FBW)-Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could barely contain his amusement at the Democrat Party's Florida and Michigan delegate dilemma in its tightly contested presidential race, saying it's "ironic beyond belief" that the party which accused him and other Republicans of suppressing the vote in the 2000 Florida presidential election re-count now "got themselves in a hole" of "their own doing."
"My thoughts are filled with irony that every vote should count," Bush said with a broad smile. "I mean this brings back memories of hyperbole and anger, mock anger .... It was a political circus for several years running, people trying to stoke the anger of a group of voters." ...
Concerning a possible Democrat re-vote in Florida, Bush compared complaints that a mail-in ballot may not be secure with criticism Democrats leveled at Republicans in 2000.
"I believe Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz is now saying there's no way that we're going to do ballot by mail because who's going to be in charge, we can't insure the sanctity of the ballot," Bush said. "And any effort we made to do just that-to make sure that ... only people eligible to vote could vote ... brought unbelievable opposition from the very people that now are confronted with this challenge."
Bush said he finds "odd" the idea of a "do-over"-a revote in Florida and Michigan because the Democrat National Committee removed all the states' delegates as punishment after their presidential primaries were moved up in the calendar. But he also said it's probably not fair to Sen. Barack Obama to allow the Florida Jan. 29 vote to stand because he didn't campaign here, in accordance with the rules.
By comparison, Bush said the Republican National Committee's response to the early primaries in which Florida Republicans only lost half of their delegates looks today "genius-like compared to the DNC." The DNC punishment was "out of proportion," he added.
If Jeb's last name had been anything but Bush he would have been the clear favorite for the GOP nomination this year. It's too bad he probably will never get the chance.
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