Bush May Have Let Slip His 2016 Plans Among Other Missteps
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush may have let it slip what his plans are for 2016 among other missteps that have South Florida and the nation talking.
A tense moment caught on video involved a student Democratic group leader in Nevada who put Bush on the spot, about Iraq, Isis, and his brother, former President George W Bush.
"Your brother created ISIS," said student Ivy Ziedrich.
Bush asked,"Is that a question?"
"You don't need to be pedantic to me, sir. You can just..." said Ziedrich.
"Pedantic? Wow," Bush said.
Click here to watch Natalia Zea's report.
Bush has also spent the last few days trying to re-answer the question knowing what we knows today, would he make the same decision as his brother - to invade Iraq.
On Thursday, during a stop in Tempe, Arizona he said, "If we're all supposed to answer hypothetical questions, knowing what we know now, what would you have done? I would have not engaged. I would not have gone into Iraq."
That was different from what he said to Fox News earlier this week when he stated, "I would have and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody. And so would almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got."
As he faced backlash from Democrats and fellow Republicans for that, Bush said he misinterpreted the question.
"Whatever I heard, it was translated in my head, knowing what you knew then, what would you do. And I answered it honestly, and I answered it the way I answer all the time, which is that there were mistakes made, but based on the information we had, it was the right decision," said Bush.
Likely presidential opponents quickly piled on.
"Even at the time, Iraq was a mistake," said Republican Presidential Candidate Rand Paul.
"Of course not," said Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz.
"My answer would be no," said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
South Florida based political pollster and analyst Fernan Amandi is surprised by Bush's responses to these questions.
"This is the one issue, the one area where he could have expected and anticipated this kind of scrutiny," Amandi told CBS4's Natalia Zea.
"I think it's still early. I don't think it's yet a disqualifying mistake, but it's going to be the type of mistake that he can't repeat too often or he's going to jeopardize his chances," he added.
He says Bush will have to have a clear response when people compare him to his brother, former President George W. Bush.
South Florida voter Michael Weaver agrees.
"All these candidates are going to get hit with these types of questions now," he told Zea.
Weaver says anyone who wants his votes needs to be clear about his or her positions.
"I think it's important because it shows they're actually thinking, not just now, not just reacting to situations and not just trying to get elected short-term but trying to preserve things long-term."
He believes all the candidates will have to be transparent, to win the votes of a population that's paying attention.
When it comes to a possible presidential run, while Bush has not officially announced whether he will, or will not, he may have jumped the gun in comments he made Wednesday morning after a town hall in Reno, Nevada.
"I'm running for president in 2016 and the focus is going to be about how we, if I run, how do you create high sustained economic growth where more people will have a chance to earn success," Bush told reporters.
During the same conversation he did say, several times, that he's still thinking about whether he'll run.
Bush added a record like his leading the state of Florida from 1998 to 2007 is the kind of record necessary to win the White House.
Wednesday night, in the same 22-minute speech at the Clark County Republican Party's annual Lincoln day dinner fundraiser in Las Vegas, he repeated he is not yet a candidate for president instead excited about exploring the possibility.
Bush spent most of his Las Vegas speech talking about his life, family and how his record differs compared to President Barack Obama's.
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