NYT: After Fla. Legislative Session Ends, Gov. Bush Feels Sting of Defeat

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 6 - For most of his time in office, Gov. Jeb Bush has all but walked on water, pushing through changes that a less confident or pedigreed politician would not have dared. But with less than two years left in power, Mr. Bush is experiencing something strange: defeat.

His mind was plainly on his legacy in March, when he used his State of the State address to call for "bold, brave ideas" to "define us as dreamers, builders and problem solvers." Among his top goals were expanding a school voucher program that has been found unconstitutional and is under review by the Florida Supreme Court and scaling back a costly constitutional requirement to reduce class size in public schools.

Mr. Bush, who wants most to be seen as an education reformer and architect of government efficiency, also proposed overhauling the state's Medicaid system, making it harder to sue businesses and planning more responsibly for the state's unfettered growth. But as the two-month legislative session spun to a close this week, Mr. Bush suffered some of the sharpest losses of his tenure - at the hands of his own Republican party.

On Thursday, the State Senate rejected the governor's proposal to ask voters to scale back the class-size limits they approved in 2002, which he has said would cost taxpayers billions of dollars. It also killed his plan to expand the voucher program, which would have allowed struggling readers to transfer to private and religious schools.

That afternoon, Mr. Bush, who usually sticks to the hushed executive wing of the State Capitol, waded into the circus atmosphere of the rotunda between the House and Senate chambers to lobby for his dying agenda.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/national/08florida.html

Both nationally and in Florida. I wonder though, what vessel Rove will use to retain power. Do you think he try to have Jeb! coronated?

But not out of mind. They still have billions to swindle from the public. And before you know it, a new generation of coke heads will replace the previous.......

Not to mention the fact Shrub Jr. will probably still be around for another twenty years or so......

The state of Florida is the laughing stock of the nation and our nation is becoming the laughing stock of the world.

That's his legacy.

of the highest order, put them away and lock them up please.
Impeach both *s today.

:kick:

in the State House this year but they actually had a good session and seemed to care less what about what Jebbie wanted. Must have been somethng in the drinking water?

I see Jeb still has the same expression on his face, though.

separated at birth.

This is a question on the most common IQ test vocabulary subtest.

Here, a picture is worth a thousand words.