Jeb Bush for U.S. Secretary of State

Newt Gingrich said on The Sean Hannity Show on 4 May 2016 that “Jeb Bush would be a very good Secretary of State”. Jeb has long been seen as “very pleasant, polished, and a smooth diplomat”. He is recognized as having the “credibility and proven executive capacity to lead” in places like Central America.

“Governor Jeb Bush is one of those visionary leaders [in the Western Hemisphere]”. He was a very strong supporter of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) proposal [1; 2; 3] and the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) [1; 2], but never at the expense of Florida’s economy. He led commercial delegations [1; 2; 3] and sought important partnerships [1; 2]. He tried to prevent a resurgence of the left-wing in Nicaragua [1; 2] and restrict Cuba [1; 2; 3]. He also built a relationship with Haiti [1; 2; 3; 4], before the unfortunate earthquake of 2010.

He is conscious of the East, too. As governor, he reached out to troops in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq [1; 2; 3; 4], and he forged closer ties with Israel. Even back in 1988, he was on a mission in Armenia. He recalled later, “These hardened Soviet Communists were crying as they saw my son hand out medicine and toys to children that looked just like him in this hospital that was… needed a whole lot of help.” Jeb has made connections in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan [1; 2], and elsewhere.

And, of course, he’s dealt in Europe, also [1; 2; 3; 4; 5].

But Jeb is not immune from mistakes, of course.

He said near the beginning of his presidential campaign, “I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals, or from my Pope.” Though what he said can be justified (exact policy is up for debate, though principles are not), it was probably imprudent. And Cardinal Turkson went after him for it. The following Sunday, Cardinal Wuerl gently responded, taking a middle ground in an interview on Fox News. A week-and-a-half later, Jeb posted a photo of himself with Wuerl, making clear his appreciation. This was a fine response, though he might have also written a letter to the nuncio or directly to the Vatican.

Later in the campaign, when Pope Francis was beginning to be attacked from all quarters for criticizing Donald Trump, Jeb was asked for a quick response. He said, with a characteristic bit of frustration, “it only enables bad behavior when someone from the outside of our country talks about Donald Trump” [1; 2]. This, I think, was a missed opportunity. While it might have been difficult to publicly side with the Holy Father (considering the fury over immigration reform and the demographics of South Carolina in particular), I would have loved it if he doubled-down on what was said, maybe with something like this: “Donald Trump is a notorious liar and narcissist. He attacked my wife over her Mexican heritage. He features his never-read Bible in videos while he unfairly compares his opponents to child molesters. He put strippers in his casinos. He brags about his perverse sexual exploits. He is not just advocating un-Christian things; he is absolutely not a Christian in his behavior. ‘By their fruits you shall know them’.” (He actually did say something about this, a month earlier.) Bush went on to indicate, months later, that he thought the pontiff’s statement had an effect on results. (More likely, he was hurt by Gov. Nikki Haley’s betrayal.)

Still, he is a good and extraordinarily talented man.