As if he needed it, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush scored big recently with the re-election backing of Rudy Giuliani. The former New York City mayor and Bush appeared together at the Florida Professional Firefighters convention in Altamonte Springs and later at a $1,000-per-person GOP fundraiser in Orlando.
At the convention Bush basked in the reflected superstar status of Giuliani and picked up the endorsement of the Florida Professional Firefighters union. He also landed a boffo future TV spot; the Bush campaign had a camera crew in tow for the twosome.
But for all those either savoring or cringing over the joined-hands Bush-Giuliani wirephoto, here’s more to reflect upon. Jeb obviously isn’t the only Bush to have Giuliani’s blessing.
Superimpose George W. for Jeb and you may have the presidential ticket for 2004. Not only does the GOP obviously want to pull out all stops for the re-election of President Bush, but it wants to be positioned in 2008 to hold on to the White House.
Vice President Dick Cheney has a pacemaker and no charisma. He’s also from Wyoming, a state sans electoral clout. He won’t be the GOP standard-bearer in ’08 under any scenario. So why not a Bush-Giuliani ticket in ’04?