Feb. 19--Likely Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush on Wednesday began to distance himself from his older brother, former President George W. Bush, by suggesting he values stability in the Middle East over promotion of democracy.
During a speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the former Florida governor, who is widely expected to run for his party's presidential nomination, also strongly defended the National Security Agency collection of records on Americans' telephone calls, saying it was needed to protect the country against terrorism.
"For the life of me, I don't understand" why the "debate has gotten off track" about the program, he said.
Bush said that while he admires his brother and father, former President George H.W. Bush, "I'm my own man, and my views are shaped by my own thinking and my own experiences."
Later, during a question and answer session, Bush was asked about President Barack Obama's handling of the Arab Spring uprisings against authoritarian governments in the Middle East. Bush answered by indirectly criticizing his brother, who had trumpeted the promotion of democracy in the Middle East as a major theme of his presidency.
Misplacing priorities in the region "is a problem of presidents past, as well," Bush said, without specifying whom he was referring to. He praised the current government in Egypt, which human rights groups have widely criticized for curbing free speech and dissent.
"We've got a problem in Egypt," he said. "We're holding back from providing support to (Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah) el-Sisi. ... Is he a liberal democrat who believes in freedom like we do? No, he isn't.
"But I think we have to be practical. We have to balance our belief in liberty with a belief that security and engagement will create the possibilities for the Egyptians to garner more freedom," Bush added.
That call for pragmatic global engagement puts him more in line with the legacy of his father than with his brother.
In the first major foreign policy speech of his exploratory campaign, Bush sought to differentiate himself from his family dynasty -- a major hurdle as he explores a run for the presidency in 2016. He faces persistent questions about how he will differ from his older brother, whose popularity plummeted because of the war in Iraq and the collapse of the economy.
He also contrasted his views with those of the Obama administration, lambasting its foreign policy efforts as "inconsistent and indecisive" and calling for the U.S. to project greater power internationally.
"The great irony of the Obama presidency is this: Someone who came to office promising greater engagement with the world has left America less influential in the world," Bush said. "The president should call on leaders of both parties to fix the budget and address the shortfalls in our defense spending."
Bush's speech drew an estimated 800 people to the Fairmont Chicago at the northern edge of Millennium Park.
In exploring a presidential candidacy, Bush is venturing into historically Democratic urban centers to sketch out his vision for a potential campaign. In Detroit earlier this month, he took on themes not typically associated with a conservative Republican agenda -- topics such as income inequality and the economic future of the nation's big cities.
"I know some in the media think conservatives don't care about the cities. But they are wrong," he said in Detroit. "We believe that every American in every community has a right to pursue happiness."
Tribune Washington Bureau Chief David Lauter contributed.
kbergen@chicagotribune.com
