Jeb Bush and Bill McBride are in a close race for governor of FL. As seen in this post from SKBubba, McBride's campaign just started using footage of Bush praising McBride as a counter to attack ads by Bush.
This is a tactic which will quickly be emulated by other campaigns, resulting in even less civility in our government. What pol is going to praise a potential future rival for office when he knows those words may come back during a hard fought campaign?
Bubba quotes from the first section of the article, but fails to include the Bush response:
The Bush campaign is ready with its own, Nov. 15, 1999, St. Petersburg Times dispatch from Jerusalem covering McBride's travel then with Bush on a trade mission to Israel. McBride praised Bush then as "a person who cares for people," and said the governor had used his first year in office to "boldly tackle problems."McBride described traveling with Bush as similar to being in the company of a rock star, the newspaper reported at the time. "There is gravity and substance to this governor," McBride was quoted as saying. "He knows how to do the right thing."
In an ironic twist, Bush can now crow that McBride's hometown newspaper has chosen to endorse the republican for governor.
Bill McBride is a quality person and candidate, but Bush has kept his word to the people of Florida and deserves a second term. For governor of Florida, the Tribune endorses Jeb Bush.Posted by Rich at October 27, 2002 12:52 PM