Pubdate: Mon, 04 Feb 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Elisabeth Bumiller
Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Noelle+Bush
http://www.mapinc.org/people/Jeb+Bush
http://www.mapinc.org/people/George+Bush

White House Letter

BROTHERS BUSH ALREADY IN FULL CAMPAIGN MODE

It's that time of year again when Americans like to fly to the warm
beaches of Florida to see parents, grandparents and other relatives
with nice condominiums. Among such eager travelers is the president of
the United States, who enjoys frequent trips to see his brother the
governor, Jeb Bush.

"I'm really happy to visit Florida," President Bush said in Orlando
recently. "The weather's beautiful. There's a lot of interesting
things to do here. I recommend people from outside of Florida to come
and take a look at Florida. It's a nice place to visit and a great
place to live. One reason why is because you've got a great governor.
I'm not very objective!"

The president will be taking more of his own advice tomorrow, when he
visits Eglin Air Force Base in the Panhandle. He was most recently in
the state last Thursday, in Volusia County, which he lost in Florida's
2000 presidential melodrama to Al Gore. Mr. Bush was in Florida in
December, too, in Orange County, which he also lost to Mr. Gore.

By Monday, Mr. Bush will have been to Florida seven times as
president. The only other state he has visited more often as president
is Pennsylvania -- eight times -- which he lost by five percentage
points to Mr. Gore.

Of course, Mr. Bush's trips to Florida offer more than just the sight
of a White House already waging the 2004 presidential campaign in a
state that many Democrats still say the president lost the first time
around. The trips also offer the spectacle of fraternal politics,
jocular affection and the suppressed rivalry of two siblings whose
political fortunes are now inextricably linked.

Jeb was the thoughtful, workaholic sibling who was the family's hope
for president until the wisecracking, happy-go-lucky George came along
in 1994 and surprised even his mother by upsetting Gov. Ann Richards
of Texas. Jeb lost the same year by two percentage points to Gov.
Lawton Chiles of Florida, the closest governor's race in the state's
history. Although Jeb came back to easily beat Buddy MacKay in 1998,
by then George was the Bush in line for the White House.

Now there are two re-elections at stake: Jeb's in November and
George's in 2004. So far, of course, neither Bush is facing a tough
fight. George has some of the highest approval ratings in modern
American history, while Jeb's main Democratic rival, former Attorney
General Janet Reno, fainted while giving a speech last week, eliciting
sympathy from her governor. "I've also worked too hard, harder than I
should," Jeb magnanimously said. "And I imagine she had a long day and
was tired and collapsed."

Still, Jeb needs George for re-election, just as George needs Jeb to
help secure the state by more than the official 537-vote margin of
victory he got in 2000. President Bush's first appearance at a
fund-raiser since Sept. 11 was last month on behalf of his brother,
just blocks from the White House. The president, whom Republicans are
calling the biggest draw in political fund-raising history, told the
crowd that his brother was "a deeply compassionate man, but he's
plenty tough."

"Just ask the crooks of Florida," the president said.

Brotherly events continued apace last week, even though White House
advisers initially said that Jeb would not surface for the president's
trip to Daytona Beach to promote the Bush administration's volunteer
programs. But there the two brothers were in the limousine on the ride
from the president's seaside hotel to the Volusia County Fire Services
Center. There Jeb was on the firehouse stage, beaming about his
brother, "the president of the United States."

The joint appearance came only two days after the arrest of Jeb's
daughter, Noelle, 24, on charges of prescription fraud after the
police said that she illegally tried to obtain the antianxiety drug
Xanax from a drugstore in the small hours of the morning. To no one's
surprise, not a word was uttered publicly between the two brothers
about the incident. But any questions there might have been about the
president's willingness to stand by Jeb were not even asked.

Jeb has been there for George, too, although here the brotherly
narrative gets more complicated. After enduring complaints from some
Republicans that he had not worked hard enough for his brother's
presidential campaign in Florida, Jeb made his most noticeable
appearance on the weekend before Election Day, to defend George
against a drunken driving arrest in 1976.

"Twenty four years ago, my brother was a different person," Jeb said
then on Fox News. "He wasn't ready to be president." Since then, he
assured voters, he has "transformed himself." One of Jeb's other
noticeable moments in that race came in September, when he told The
St. Petersburg Times that he was mindful of how he helped his brother,
"because of the comparisons, that might not help George in some cases."

By the day after Election Day, Jeb had become a sleep-deprived bundle
of nerves as he confronted once again the talk that he resented his
brother's success. He recounted, to a packed news conference in
Tallahassee, a roller coaster election night when he apologized to his
brother for losing Florida, or so he then thought.

"It was one of the most amazing and emotionally intense evenings of my
life," he said.

For 2004, the Bush brothers are working hard to turn in early.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake