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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC Political Researcher



Jeb Bush endorses Mccain

Posted: Monday, February 11, 2008 4:11 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Jeb Bush endorsed McCain, saying in a statement, "John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader. Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good. He is determined and steadfast in his commitment to reducing the burden of high taxes, restoring the people's trust in their government, and winning the war against radical Islamic extremists. It is with pride that I announce my endorsement of John McCain for president."

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Jeb Bush he is Mc Cains Vice President isn't he ?
Oh, dear GOD, the endorsement of a member of the Bush crime family?  THE KISS OF DEATH!!!  McCain should refuse it before the grime sticks to his suit!!!
Who wants an endorsement from a BUSH?
What? Not a freaking surprise. McCWar shares Bush's war fantasy. He also shares Bush's doomed immigration reform (it is only because Bush is desperately seeking a way to exit the presidency with a better legacy). Bush failed to capture bin Laden and all others responsible for the worst attack on U.S. soil, yet McBomber thinks we can sustain the war. We will only create a new generation of jihadists.
WONDER HOW JEB FEELS ABOUT HIS BROTHER RUINING ANY CHANCE HE HAD AT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT.  THE LAST THING ANYONE WOULD EVER WANT IS YET ANOTHER BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
endorsments that tout macain as a true conservtive, hurt the person making the endorsement more than they help macain. if you cant get conservitives to believe in evolution with science what makes you think you can get them to believe in macain with just a sentence. macain doesnt have a chance
Who cares what any Bush has to say?
I saw Bush on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace in which he said that Obama isn't worthy to be president.  Excuse me, is Bush worthy to be president.  I think not, and probably 70% of American citizens don't think so either.  He sounded like a Republican partisan instead of the president of the entire United States.  Excuse me, Mr. Bush aren't those from the "Democrat" party also part of the America that you are supposed to be governing?   According to Bush, only those from the "Republic" party are Americans, what are the rest of us (Democrats, Independents, etc)- not Americans.  He is shameless.  A true president would have said I will not make my judgement based on the party affiliation of the candidate, but on who will be the best person to serve this nation.  Instead, he basically says that Democrats are wrong because they don't agree with thim.  He is a republican, not a president to all citizens of the US.  What a despicable person.  Actually, Obama is more worthy than Bush will ever be.  I think Obama will be the president to all, not just one party.

Pile it higher and deeper, Jeb.

Poor old John, the victim in 2000 has been chosen to be the victim, par exellance, in 2008.

Gee whiz.  I wonder who ever the Republicans could run in 2012 if poor old John ends up in Hangover Hilton?

Just hold that thought for awhile.

I am busy now helping choose the Academy Awards dress for Chuck, Mark, and Dom's "news" colleague on page 1 of the MSNBC "News" website.

That yellow rag (her dress, not the website) is so 1952.

You know, if it's not one thing... it's the other.

And now.... back to the NEWS!!!

Must we keep calling this a "war" against ....."?

Using this word makes war mongers out of everyone. It makes war acceptable regardless of the circumstances.

We should NOT have started a war. We should have stayed in Afghanistan and not come out until Bin Laden was captured or killed.

Stop with the word "War". Otherwise, thousands of innocent people can be killed.

Oh, never mind. Too late. No one is listening. No one ever did.

Common sense. We need more of it.
Just what McCain needs - if Jeb Bush wanted to help, he should have kept his mouth shut.
Does anyone, Republican or otherwise, REALLY want an endorsement from anyone with the last name "Bush"?

I'd be running away from that as quickly as possible.
Well Vi in WI has gotten the first inkling of what is to come.  Jeb will be the VP for McCain, McCain will end up leaving the white house, and we have another eight years of the Bush's.  
Robin Smith: Then who are the six al Qaeda jihadists now getting ready to be tried for their roles in the 9/11 attacks?[including its 1995 mastermind.Sheikh Khalid Muhammed]. Were these not captured? Are they now not in US custody?
Enough of the endorsements!  McCain is the nominee.  I hope it ends up Obama vs. MaCain so I will have somebody for whom to vote.
Would Jeb Bush really be an asset as VP?  Aren't people sick to death of the name Bush?
This may mean that Jeb doesn't know if Dubya is planning on suspending the 22nd Amendment. Or it might be just something to get us totally relaxed before the Hit happens, like in 'Goodfellas'.
Weak endorsement - you would expect that it would be done at a rally or news conference.  Or maybe McCain doesn't want to be that close to Bush.
Tough luck, Jeb.  The last thing we want is another Bush a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. Sucks that you were always considered the smart one.  Sucks that your wife is a smuggler and your daughter is a crack whore.  Maybe by the time Geoarge P. comes of age, we will either forgive or forget what your brother did to the country.  Tough luck, Jeb, sucks to be you.
No one saw that coming????
JEB IS AS DUMB AS HIS BROTHER, WE HAD TO PUT UP WITH HIM IN FLORIDA. HE DID A "TERRIBLE" JOB !
A War Crime Mafia deputy leader endorses McCain.
At least the Bush name isn't as tainted as the Clinton name. Chew on that you criminal lovers.
Yo Robin Smith terrorists and Bin Laden weren't responsible for 9/11 I think you need to watch zeitgeistmovie.com check out all the facts and add some real fuel to your fire.  I do btw commend you that you're at least against this ridiculous war made for financial gains.
* Crickets chirping *
The thing that keeps all of you Bush haters up at night is the fact that more than half the country will pick a Bush for President over a Democrat on any given day, no matter what the polls say.
From Campaign Diaries:

'...2.11.2008
The weekend belonged to Obama. Can Clinton survive?

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had been exchanging wins since the beginning of January, leading up to the draw of Super Tuesday. But Obama's sweep of this week-end's four contests (five if you count the Virgin Islands) changes that.

As soon as people turned to look beyond February 5th, it became obvious that Obama was expected to win most of the February states. But even with those high expectations he managed to perform even better by (1) posting huge margins in all three of the Saturday states (Washington, Louisiana and Nebraska) and (2) by taking Maine, which many commentators saw Clinton as having a fighting chance in.

Most importantly, Obama stormed ahead in the pledged delegate count (he was still slightly behind in counts that didn't try and estimate the still outstanding delegates from Illinois and Colorado) and is getting very close to Clinton in the count that includes superdelegates. Odds are that he will even pass Hillary there after the Potomac primaries are in, which Obama is expected to sweep as well, building up to a very impressive 7-0 series.

It is very hard to determine how this might affect the remaining primaries at this point. No candidate has ever been able built to build sufficient momentum, with the two Obama bounces (after Iowa and heading to Super Tuesday) famously subsiding. Can Obama's week-end sweep (combined with his probable wins on Tuesday) finally break the impasse the party is in?

The Clinton campaign had been preparing for this onslaught, and knows that if they "hold serve" on March 4th, they will have prolonged this a few more weeks. (It is worth noting that comparisons to Rudy Giuliani's strategy are not relevant here. Giuliani did not campaign at all in states like New Hampshire in which he was still strong and he had the money to do it. And that caused him to fall entirely out of the media spotlight. Clinton does not have a strategy to ignore the February states, or if she does it is a way of setting expectations. She is clearly not favored in all of them -- not the case with Giuliani -- there is no risk that she might fall out of the media spotlight and, most importantly, she is trying to close margins in those states, she is devoting money and resources and she has not gone off to Ohio the way Giuliani went to Florida. In fact, Clinton is now concentrating her efforts on Virginia ).

The way the Clintonites see it, Obama is simply "holding serve" right now and if Clinton does as well in Ohio and Texas, the campaign will go to the tie-breaker of Pennsylvania. This tennis analogy was indeed a very useful metaphor to figure out the dynamics of race as of Tuesday. But is it still relevant today? An Obama sweep with small margins and a smaller delegate lead could have been nothing more than a hold of serve but with the size of these wins and Obama pulling ahead in all the metrics available (including fundraising), does Clinton have a chance in March?

This question is incredibly difficult to answer given how unpredictable this primary season has been. And if Obama continues to open up a delegate lead, things could go downhill very fast for Hillary, particularly if she loses big in the Wisconsin primary...'


Wouldn't THAT be cool ?   ;-D



Poor Jeb and Hillary-Always a bridesmaid....
Not Jebba the Hut!   NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
We are going to be voting in the fall for a new “commander-in-chief”.   We must have a leader who has the backing and support of the majority of the American people.  There will always be dissension where 200 million people have freedom of speech. The presidential position requires someone who is able to see both sides of an issue and relate to us that the course of action we take, as a nation, is the best course for the most people.  He or she has to be a global thinker.  We need a leader who will protect us against religious fanatics who have declared war on the whole United States, not just our armed services.  Think about that while you decide who you want for a president.  
John McCain is getting the most support in the Republican Party because many people believe he will serve his country first, not others’ political ambitions.  Significant changes in world politics have been ongoing while he has been a policymaker.  He knows the political processes and knows how to work with others to overcome personal preferences to serve the best interests of our country.
Our president needs to make difficult decisions every day.  Decisions that affect the whole world, not just a few conservative fanatics whose backsides have a firm rod inserted that will not allow them to bend or to see what needs to be done. There are so many critics voicing their personal opinions.  How about voicing some solutions instead of negative opinions?
The House of Representatives and the Senate are going to be dominated by democrats.  Our president needs to be able to work with them to get bills passed that will take care of the USA first, and then the rest of the world.  We have some gigantic homeland problems, one of which is an aging population that is going to put a strain on this country’s economy, the likes of which have never been seen before.   We’ve been straining our country’s resources since 1946.   Think about 80,000,000 old homeless people who need constant medical care.  
Well for what its worth he got another Bush indorsement.. but he already had the current FL govs.  Since I dont think McCain cares much about the Bush family I dont think this is a big deal
Didn't Castro call him George Bush's 'fat little brother' ?
Obama is the most liberal candidate. He will turn america into a socialist state. He will raise tax. For instance, he is proposing to raise capital gain and dividend tax from current 15% to at 24%.
When McCain loses in November watch the conservative establishment line up behind the heir apparent...

Jeb 2012.
John McCain/Jeb Bush ticket?  As much as many of us may fear it, or think it politically unwise given W's lack of approval, DO NOT rule it out.  It would almost immediately sure up the right-wing base, help McCain sure up the South, make Florida that much more winnable for the GOP in November, and set up the Bush-That-Was-Supposed-To-Be-President to run in '12 or '16.  Call me crazy, but I see the Bush $$$ getting behind this and making it happen.
Still waiting for the key Bush endorsement...
Bandar "howdy from Saudi" Bush.
That endorsement will insure years of foreign entanglements for John McWar to spend our blood and treasure on.

Get some John!  
The stars are aligning nicely. Very good news for the Dems, Republicans come one, come all.

yes we can
Some of you people don't get it...among Republicans Bush's approval rating is 60%...this endorsement is not meant to help McCain with the moderates/independents.

Most people can/want to understand that McCain needs to solidify his base before he can move to the center.

A Bush endosement is good...a Bush campaigning for McCain would be bad.

DaveD
In late January, the assessment of John McCain by Mississippi Republican Senator Thad Cochran was this:
"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said about McCain by phone (to the Boston Globe). "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
In February, Senator Cochran now says, "I am supporting John McCain for the Republican nomination for President."  To me, all Repugnicants appear erratic.

this could be the punch that takes out the democrats.It is a shame that the Obama and Clinton voters are so busy destroying each other that they probably do not even notice.Oh well they are losers anyway.
Another Bush would be better than another Clinton.
Why does Obama refuse to debate Clinton on Feb.19th. in Wisconsin ? Afraid people will find out the truth ?
LOL............So much for McCain.
lol.  Hillarious stuff!  As if it wasn't bad enough that Pres.Bush was starting to support McCain, now Jeb has jumped in.

Furthermore, do we need another Presideent with a major chip on his shoulder like little Bushie had for Iraq?  Want to know what I'm talking about, ok - here:

In Miami on January 25, McCain had said: "There's a person I want you to help me find when Cuba is free, and that's that Cuban that came to the prison camps of North Vietnam and tortured and killed my friends. We'll get him and bring him to justice, too."

McCain will bring his style of vigalante justice to the world, like Chuck Norris, except without Huckabee and with only one hand, since evidently McCain's right hand is stuck in the land of Bob Dole hands.

Ok, let's think about this folks:

What does America do when their fine men and women of the Millitary come home?  Generally, we give them bad healthcare, and very little assistance or help.  Often times these folks have already lost their jobs or lost their companies that they started before the war.  A good chunk of these vets have, well, lost it because of blowing people away for a few years straight.

So are you telling me that McCain is a stable individual after being in a prison camp for years?  lol.  This guy is half way crazy at a minimum.  And if America wants a millitary guy, why not just install Patreus as the Dictator of the USA?????
Calling us Bush haters? Well, only if you are a so-called "hardcore conservative". Most of those who reelected Bush in 2004 did so on the basis of meaningless "moral values" that only super hypocrites can do. I say hypocrite because your values mean NOTHING. Stand for the values of America as a whole. In 2000, Bush did not even win the popular vote, and in 2004 he did so mainly on the supporte of hypocrites like him and those too brainwashed that he is the established commander in chief to deal with the "war on terror" to the point they don't want a new leader -- they want Bush to finish and clean his damn mess with the war. By giving him the vote in 2004, those hypocrites approed his handling of almost everything -- the war, secret eavesdropping, politically motivated firing of US attorneys, damage to America's image as a champion of democracy, and so on -- that most of you are now opposing and gave the president a very low approval rating. What a hypocrite America is! Foreigners correctly refer to us as the "arrogant power".
I believe John McCain is much too smart to choose Jeb Bush as his running mate.  America is sick, sick, sick of the Bushes, and every candidate should stay as far away from them as possible.  Looking back to the dirty politics the Bushes played on McCain in 1999 and 2000 makes me think they believe all Americans are as stupid as they are.  Bushes, please go away!
Jeb can't be McCain;s Veep. Especially after waiting this long to back him. It's a mandatory endorsement now.

http://www.political-buzz.com/
McCain looks like the Mummy on the campaign trail! Even Lou Dobbs said he looked like he just woke up today and somebody stuck a microphone in his face! McCain is a nightmare! How anybody could back him at this time of crisis is a sad reminder to how low the GOP has fallen. McCain has no energy, had no events today and limped across the finish line in Florida carried by Crist and Martinez. John McCain is 10 years too late.  
The "Brothers In Amnesty" strike again.
Gee, that's funny. Jeb actually endorsed Mitt Romney last year. And he didn't say a darn thing when Mitt was still in the race! Oh, by the way, I am a Floridian and we like to joke and call Jeb the "smart" brother. He actually was a good govenor and well liked and respected by Reps. and Dems alike. But a Bush none the less.


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