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Tipsheet

Jeb Bush: No, I Don't Support a "Federal Mandate" for Common Core

You may recall that presidential candidate and ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke at The RedState Gathering last weekend. Afterwards, however, he sat down exclusively with Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey for an extended interview.

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To be sure, this is a fascinating conversation. Why? Partly because it shows the candidate in an entirely different, more intimate setting — and partly because the former governor seemed much more relaxed and jocular than during the debate. (They discussed ice fishing, among other things). So listening to the interview, one gets a much clearer sense of what kind of person he is — and how he interacts with people — than watching cable news television.

I recommend therefore watching all the way through. But since it’s rather long, the following are three (hopefully instructive) excerpts I transcribed that may be of interest.

On Common Core:

EM: “You’re a supporter of Common Core, a national education policy…”

JB: “Hang on, be careful now. I’m for states that have [and] want to take up Common Core standards to voluntarily do it."

EM: "So you’re not for a federal mandate for Common Core?"

JB: “Of course not.”

On Donald Trump:

EM: “I’m not sure if your campaign had a statement about Donald Trump’s remarks last night about Megyn Kelly…”

JB: “…Hillary Clinton is just giddy with excitement when Donald Trump says these things. Megyn Kelly is probably the most professional, talented journalist on cable television — on television — in America today. [And] to denigrate her doesn’t do Mr. Trump much good, but frankly damages the conservative brand. Enough already.”

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On his campaign strategy:

EM: “I noticed in your speech, and during the debate, that you seemed to be very careful about really focusing criticism by name on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.”

JB: "Yeah. You got it [laughter]."

EM: "And not everybody has that discipline. But you seem to be very focused in that direction, and just wanted to make sure that that’s a very deliberate choice, and if you think that’s an appropriate model for Republican campaigns in this election cycle."

JB: “Sure, look: There’s 16 people running. So there’s going to be some elbows and knees and pushing around under the boards. This is a contact sport. But we have to be unified at the end of it to win. And I respect everybody that’s running. I don’t start with the premise that people are bad. So first and foremost I got to go share my record and what I believe is important for [showing] my leadership skills. When there’s differences of opinions, fair game. But it shouldn’t be personalized."

Watch the full clip below:

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