Jeb Bush's foreign policy vision
"I am my own man," Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor and potential presidential candidate, will say, in a speech designed to both introduce the world to his thoughts on foreign policy and differentiate himself from his father and his brother. Both waged war against Iraq while they held the highest office in the land.
It would be inconceivable for Bush to make a speech about foreign policy without addressing the legacies of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. He will mention them directly.
"I also have been lucky to have a father and a brother who both have shaped America's foreign policy from the Oval Office. I recognize that as a result, my views will often be held up in comparison to theirs - sometimes in contrast to theirs," Bush will say, according to his prepared remarks. "I love my father and my brother. I admire their service to the nation and the difficult decisions they had to make. But I am my own man - and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences."
Released excerpts from his speech do not indicate where he diverges from them.
Bush will also address the current occupant of the White House, saying, "I have doubts whether this administration believes American power is such a force. Under this administration, we are inconsistent and indecisive. We have lost the trust and the confidence of our friends. We definitely no longer inspire fear in our enemies."
And, as far as Bush is concerned, youth and the new generation may be a little overrated. Obama is 53 years old to Bush's 62. "The great irony of the Obama presidency is this: Someone who came to office promising greater engagement with the world has left America less influential in the world," Bush will say, according to the prepared remarks.
He'll attack Mr. Obama for lines drawn, and then set aside. "The administration talks, but the words face. They draw red lines ... then erase them. With grandiosity, they announce resets and disengage," Bush will say.
This world is different from George W. Bush's world and from George H.W. Bush's world, and it's likely to be at least a little different from Barack Obama's world. Bush is expected to note, "Every president inherits a changing world ... and changing circumstances."