It’s aggravating to me that conservatives like Jeb Bush are being trotted out as the voice of reason just because their platforms didn’t include the insane fascist policies of Gringrich, Santorum and Paul. Maybe this whole thing is a ploy to make politicians like Bush look palatable.

Bush was a terrible governor as far as any Democrat (like myself) is concerned. He was terrible for public education, supporting school vouchers and charter schools which took money away from the public schools that desperately needed it. Here in Miami, he closed state-funded school programs, one of which was called PACE, which helped at-risk, poverty children by grabbing them before they became hardened criminals, giving them a good education and a meaning to their lives. These programs worked and 80% of the kids went on to college or trade schools when they were otherwise headed for prison.

Although he vowed to protect the Everglades, he reached a compromise with the Republican legislature to allow off-shore drilling closer to the shore than previously permitted.

He intervened in the Terri Schiavo case by putting her back on life support (feeding tube) against the wishes of her husband. With all his yelling about our current batch of crazy candidates, Florida won’t forget his pandering to the religious right.

Quite frankly, I’m more worried about the 2016 race than 2012, especially if they’re looking to Jeb and Rubio as the voices of reason.