Jeb Bush insists he's his 'own man' on foreign policy, not father or brother

Jeb Bush says that on foreign policy, "I am my own man"
(Image credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

In excerpts of a speech former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is giving Wednesday before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the likely 2016 presidential candidate tackles the elephants in the room: His brother George W. Bush and father George H.W. Bush. Because they both "shaped America's foreign policy from the Oval Office" as president, "my views will often be held up in comparison to theirs — sometimes in contrast to theirs," Jeb Bush writes. He continues:

I love my father and my brother. I admire their service to the nation and the difficult decisions they had to make. But I am my own man — and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences. Each president learns from those who came before — their principles... their adjustments. One thing we know is this: Every president inherits a changing world... and changing circumstances. [Jeb Bush]

At the same time, Reuters reports, Bush has drawn on a broad group of key foreign policy officials from his father and brother's administrations. The list includes former deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, former CIA directors Porter Goss and Michael Hayden, ex-National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, and John Hannah, national security adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.