Jeb Bush says he's going to tackle special interests in Washington. Don't believe him.

All presidential candidates makes the same promise, but for some reason they never come through

Jeb Bush
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Jeb Bush didn't just release 33 years of his tax returns this week. He also had his campaign create a snappy online presentation, complete with graphs, to help everyone understand them. In the accompanying narrative there was one line that caught my eye. While he may have made millions after leaving the Florida governor's mansion, Jeb wrote, he didn't debase himself by doing any lobbying. "That was a line I drew and it was the right one. And it's a line more people should be drawing in Washington, D.C., where lobbying has become our nation's premier growth industry. And this culture of special interest access is a problem I plan to tackle as President."

I don't know about you, but I'm eager to hear more. How exactly will Bush tackle the culture of special interest access? Does he have some strict new rules in mind to lock the revolving door between government and business? Or will it be merely the power of his personal integrity that will keep those dastardly special interests from getting what they want?

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.