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(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com) |
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Click here for 11 full quotes from Jeb Bush in the book Profiles in Character.
OR click on an issue category below for a subset. |
BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:
This book was written in 1995, after Jeb Bush had narrowly lost the 1994 Florida gubernatorial election, and before he won the 1998 election. In other words, it outlines Jeb's policy stances with the focus on addressing issues he thought contributed to his 1994 loss and would contribute to his 1998 victory. The book is published by "The Foundation for Florida's Future," which is a think tank that Jeb founded after the 1994 loss. In other words, Jeb's Foundation was founded to publish this book, in conjunction with other projects focused on winning the next time around. Of course, those methods worked, and Jeb overwhelmingly won the 1998 election (and even more overwhelmingly won his 2002 re-election).
The title of this book is a take-off on John F. Kennedy's pre-presidential book, Profiles in Courage. Jeb's framing mechanism, focusing on "character" instead of "courage," implies that Jeb considers character the most important attribute of leadership, where JFK considered courage the most important attribute. JFK's concept of "Profiles" as an organizing theme continues its relevance, as illustrated by Caroline Kennedy's 2003 book Profiles in Courage For Our Time. All of these "Profile" books focus on individual inspirational stories.
We review this book in preparation for the 2016 presidential race. While the issue stances are from a different context (a gubernatorial run) and a different era (before Jeb's brother was elected President), they are relevant for 2016 because they show the longevity of Jeb's beliefs. In other words, voters can compare Jeb's issue stances from 1995 to those he holds closer to 2016. We summarize some of the similarities and differences:
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We presume Jeb will write another policy book in preparation for the 2016 presidential race (if Jeb authors a book in 2013 or 2014, that is strong evidence that he is planning to run). Until then, this book is all we can go by.
--Jesse Gordon, jesse@ontheissues.org, Dec. 2012
| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details) |
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Abortion No need to teach about abortion if we have moral absolutes. |
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Civil Rights Gay rights & feminism are "modern victim movements". |
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Corporations Fight corporate welfare: snouts out of public trough. |
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Crime Heinous crimes no longer news: exposure lowers norms. |
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Education Grade inflation breeds culture of falsely perceived success. |
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Families & Children Shame fathers who walk away from paternal obligations. |
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Government Reform Proper role: public order & general welfare. |
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Principles & Values Focus on virtue & character, not values. Pass moral judgment & teach virtue to our children. |
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Technology Practice tech in context of virtue; not isolated pleasure. |
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Welfare & Poverty Taking welfare should be more shameful than working. |
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All material copyright 1999-2022 by Jesse Gordon and OnTheIssues.org Reprinting by permission only. |
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org 
Send donations or submit quotations to: OnTheIssues.org 1770 Massachusetts Ave. #630 Cambridge, MA 02140 |
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Page last edited: Feb 21, 2019
