Jeb's book

The 11 best email exchanges from Jeb Bush's new book

The former Florida governor delved into everything from Columba's Paris shopping spree to the main way he's not like his dad.

By Nick Gass

Jeb Bush on Monday made a push to revive his sagging presidential campaign, launching a three-day, three-state, “Jeb Can Fix It” tour. He also officially released his e-book "Reply All: A Governor's Story 1999-2007," a collection of messages from his time as Florida’s governor, many of which have already been public by The Washington Post, which obtained the emails in advance through a public records request.

Bush has been eager to draw attention to his emails as a contrast to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, whose campaign has been dogged by the controversy over her exclusive use of a private email account and server while she was secretary of state. But Bush's transparency push hasn't always gone smoothly — in February he appeared to accidentally post the names, birthdates and Social Security numbers of thousands of people when he put online his emails from his time as governor.

Still, the emails provide a glimpse into Bush's more confident era as governor, a feeling he tried to recapture on Monday, telling a rally in Tampa: “But I have learned two important things from my time serving the people of Florida: One, I can’t be someone I’m not. And, two, getting things done isn’t about yelling into a camera or regurgitating sound bites free of substance."

Here are some of the highlights of the emails in the book:

Unlike his father

"I try every single day to emulate my father, who is the finest person I know. I am, however, my own man. Unlike him, I don’t jump out of airplanes," Bush recounted, in sharing a June 1999 email from Robin Higgins, the executive director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs.

"For our WWII fundraiser, would you jump out of plane for us?" Higgins wrote to the governor, in just his sixth month on the job.

Bush was pretty clear with his answer: "Nope. no way. no.

Dealing with constituents

In one email sent in November 1999, an anonymous constituent laid into the Florida governor's "brainless ideas," giving Bush a clear idea of where he should send those ideas.

"If you have the guts to read your own email, let this sink into you brainless mind - $ 10 Million to fund your christian value ideas of sex eduction is outrageous! You can take that plan, long with your fetus license tags, & any other brainless ideas & STICK IT UP YOUR FAT A--! Before I allow my tax dollars to go to fund your christian ideas & will move out of the state of Florida & take my money with me!" the email reads.

Bush's succinct Sunday afternoon response: "Have a wonderful restful day. You appear to need it."

'ain't the brightest bulb in the string'

Another anonymous constituent blasted the governor for campaigning for his brother's White House bid in 2000.

"i would like you to do what we pay you to do, run the state of florida. You said the other day you would be out getting votes for big brother. you are an employee of the state voted in by people who expect a days work for a days pay. besides that your brother will loose all by himself he ain’t the brightest bulb in the string," the email reads.

Bush then sought to set the person straight: "Thank you for writing. I work about 80 hours a week in my capacity as governor. You are getting a days work for a days pay. In my limited spare time, I will work for my brother and other candidates that I believe in and the taxpayers won’t pay a penny."

'stop writing about golf'

In an exchange with one St. Petersburg Times reporter, Bush suggested that he and his journalist colleagues do their jobs better.

"High or low 80s? No mulligans, one per side, or none? Didn’t you just start playing a couple of years ago?" Howard Troxler wrote Bush in July 2000.

Bush responded in kind: "I am a 10 handicap. Low 80s and high 80s. I started playing in earnest about 12 years ago. Jeez, I think I am going to launch an initiative so that idle SPTimes reporters get back to work and stop writing about golf."

Auto-Marco

"I couldn’t resist ribbing my friend Marco Rubio just a little," Bush wrote in the book's narration."I forwarded him an e-mail I thought would be of interest to him. This is what I got back."

Rubio, then a state lawmaker, returned his governor's message with a prompt auto-reply, including, "Please rest assure that I will keep your concerns in mind should I have the opportunity to work on these important issues during the next legislative session."

"Auto response!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Bush wrote back, writing in his book that Rubio "did e-mail me back."

"Even the most innovative among us need time to make dramatic changes like getting rid of the auto response!" the future senator and GOP presidential opponent responded.

How he handled the recount

During the tumultuous 2000 presidential election in Florida, Bush recalled the recount between his brother and Vice President Al Gore.

"Because of my obvious conflict of interest, I stayed completely out of it," the governor wrote in his book.

In one email, Bush responded to a Bill Williams with praise for his Secretary of State Katherine Harris for following the law amid the confusion that ensued for the next six weeks.

"I know you are covered up with emails with many diverse opinions. However, I hope you reserve a special place for your Secretary of State for standing up for the legal process of the Great State of Florida," the email from Williams read. "The Gore people are after her big time, I know she has support from your camp. Damn, I further know these strange people from the Gore Planet have you painted in some kind of corner since you are George W’s bro. Stand tall sir, your Sec’y of State absolutely deserves some kind of medal. Please know there are many of us that appreciate you, George W, and your Sec’y of State. Those Gore people will continue to press for counts until their man wins; go figure,."

Bush responded: "Thanks Bill. Secretary Harris did the right thing, she followed Florida law."

The time he turned down Barbara Walters

Days after the Supreme Court ordered a halt to a recount in Florida, ABC News' Barbara Walters emailed Bush congratulating him on his brother's election and also seeking to interview him. Bush declined.

"I am not a big fan of the national limelight. I am really only interested in serving my state. I appreciate your interest in interviewing me but I will have to take a pass. I will pass on your regards to my parents. ... PS I hope you and your family have a peaceful and joyful holiday season," he wrote on Dec. 15, 2000.

Marco's sword

"I need to get a sword for marco," Bush emailed a couple of staffers on Oct. 3, 2005.

The reason, Bush wrote in the book, "was because the Florida House of Representatives was about to designate Marco Rubio as its incoming speaker. This would make him the first Hispanic to hold that post when it became official after the 2006 elections. As I had been a huge supporter of his election to the House and his election as speaker, I was thrilled. I wanted to present to him a Chinese sword, since I was known to say from time to time, 'I am going to unleash Chang.' This meant I wanted to unleash a mythical power for conservative causes. I did indeed find and give him a sword."

9/11 concerns from Disney

Among the emails that poured into his inbox in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks was one from Michael Eisner, then the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, which operates Walt Disney World in Orlando.

"[President] Bob Iger just talked to Collingwood at the FBI who said they had no evidence about Disney being a target, not did they have an information about Disney being surveyed by anybody anytime. I think the FBI is going to put out a strong statement. We will make sure it gets to the right places. I hope the CIA doesn’t have other information. Do you know if they do? If Bob get anymore information from ABC News or anybody else he will e-mail both of us," Eisner wrote.

Bush replied: "I know of no evidence that Disney is a targete. I will follow up through our chennels. I troed to call you just give minutes ago on your portable"

The Bushes and their BlackBerrys

Bush got his first BlackBerry in 2001, as he noted in the book.

"No one was more supportive or understanding than my wife, Columba, and she never complained about the ever-present BlackBerry," he wrote. "Just like a BlackBerry, however, I needed recharging from time to time, and that was time spent with Columba and our three children— George P., Noelle, and Jebby— when they were home."

In a September 2002 message, he made sure to note, "PS iAm on my blackberry so please excuse any typo’s."

The elder Bushes soon jumped into the future of early 21st-century handheld communication as well.

"We are in the car going to hear the Oaks [Oak Ridge Boys] in Galveston and have a new toy. We love you. Mom -------------------------- Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld," a September 2003 email from Barbara Bush reads.

"a blackberry!!!!" Bush wrote back.

Columba's mistake

When first lady Columba Bush returned from a 1999 trip to Paris, she did not declare all of her purchases, paying a $4,100 penalty and learning "a difficult life lesson," Bush wrote.

"Most people were understanding— but not all," he added.

In one such message, a Harry Rabb asked Bush how he could "claim a place as an everyday Floridian, sensitive to the plight of the inner city and the plight of public schools, when you sanction a shopping trip in Paris for your wife that exceeds the salaries of many real Floridians?"

"My wife made a mistake for which she is suffering more than you will know. I love her dearly. I will continue to advocate policies that place the interests of Floridians in the forefront. Some people will appreciate my work, others like you, won’t," the governor shot back. "I hope you have a good father’s day and thanks for writing to express your views."