Bushy Boy Bids...

Jeb Bush, Official Presidential Candidate, Begins His Bid to Lock Up New Hampshire

Now that he's in the race, the former Florida governor is taking his economic message, and the start of a tax reform plan, to the state that may matter most for his candidacy.

By Tim Alberta

Jeb Bush began his first town hall meeting as a presidential candidate by professing his "love" for New Hampshire because its voters care about fiscal responsibility—then proceeded to spend an hour whispering sweet nothings about job growth, entitlement cuts, and regulatory reform.

Most notable, though, was Bush telling the crowd Tuesday that his campaign is crafting a tax-code overhaul. "You can't have high growth without reforming the tax code," Bush said. "So we're working on a proposal."

Bush said the U.S. has "the strangest" tax code he's seen, and said he would gladly do battle with "lobbyists in Washington" fighting to protect certain exemptions. Touting his recent trip to Estonia, where "you can fill out your taxes, and pay your taxes, in two minutes," Bush promised that his proposal "will be intellectually honest." But he did not elaborate on details or a timetable for releasing the plan.

The town hall-style meeting took place inside the Adams Memorial Opera House, an old-world theatre, as dozens of cameramen and reporters hung over a horseshoe-shaped balcony looking down at Bush speaking to a crowd of several hundred.

The event showed why Bush, who is socially conservative but hardly adept at giving red-meat speeches, has identified this state as the cornerstone of his 2016 campaign. Bush made a point of saying New Hampshire—not Iowa, which holds its caucuses first on the primary calendar—is "the first stop for a candidate" after launching a campaign.

Bush, in a button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves, was in his element fielding a long string of economically-themed questions. The former governor repeatedly pointed to his record in Florida as a model for fiscal efficiency in Washington, and touted "high-sustained economic growth" as the remedy for many of the country's economic ailments.

"If you ever see my good friend Rick Perry, or even my brother George W.," Bush said at one point, "tell them we created more jobs than Texas."

Bush said the U.S. can create "a field of dreams" for economic growth by doing two things: reforming the tax code and reining in excess regulations. "If we fix how we tax and how we regulate, don't you think we can compete with anybody?" Bush asked, garnering applause. "I do."

Bush fielded 16 questions, most of them framed by feelings of economic anxiety, and delivered a series of detailed responses seemingly tailor-made for his audience that showed off his policy chops.

Taking one question about his commitment to balancing the budget, Bush emphasized that entitlement spending is the biggest barrier to doing so, and promised that if elected, he would resume the last Republican president's push to restructure Social Security.

"My brother tried, got totally wiped out. Republicans and Democrats wanted nothing to do with it," Bush said. "The next president is going to have to try again."

Not every inquiry was fiscally focused. Bush took inquiries about ISIS and religious liberties, giving well-rehearsed answers to both. But it was clear that he wanted to keep the conversation on track. When an attendee asked his opinion of Obamacare, Bush began to give an on-message answer about repealing the law. Then he stopped himself.

"Look, if the take-home is 'Bush is for high-sustained economic growth where more people have a chance at earned success,' then I've accomplished my mission here today," he said. "That is what I believe in. That is the purpose of my candidacy."

Still, that didn't keep all questioners on topic. One of the more revealing exchanges came when an attendee asked Bush about climate change, raising Pope Francis's forthcoming speech on the subject—and alleging that Bush's home state of Florida "will be underwater" by the year 2100. Bush smirked and appeared to roll his eyes.

"I hope I'm not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don't get economic policy from bishops or my cardinals or my pope," Bush said. "I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting into the political realm."

Bush also had a made-for-TV moment when a middle-aged woman stood to tell him that she has special needs, detailing how she works locally with other such people. Bush, appearing emotional, extended his arms, then walked over and hugged the woman to booming applause.

It was the best moment for Bush in an event that was, for the most part, flawlessly executed. The substance of his responses demonstrated why Bush was immediately tagged as a powerhouse candidate. And the line of questioning he received is likely to only confirm to his campaign team that New Hampshire is the best place for him to plant a flag and win one of the critical early nominating states.

At one point, when a man stood to ask a question, he informed Bush it was the third time they had met. "We'll probably meet about 20 more times," Bush replied.