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Historic inaugural focuses on family
By STEVE BOUSQUET, ALISA ULFERTS and JULIE HAUSERMAN View related 10 News video:
On the steps of the Old Capitol, before a bundled-up crowd of more than 3,000 people and a statewide TV audience, Bush reasserted his core conservative values and religious faith. Bush took the oath of office with the Bible his father and brother used when they became presidents. He called abortion a "tragedy" and dreamed of a state where government was not needed so public buildings could be "empty of workers, silent monuments." The hourlong ceremony served as the exclamation point to the most successful election for Republicans in state history. Also sworn in were three Republicans joining Bush on the Cabinet for the next four years: Attorney General Charlie Crist, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson. Backed by a musical score of Christian and patriotic music, Bush called on Floridians to help create "a culture that demands excellence, not adequacy; that exalts in the individual, not government." He said government is not the answer to society's ills, but then cited how state government in his first term lowered crime and improved education, human services and the environment. Bush's goals are concise but ambitious: improve reading, strengthen families and diversify an economy dominated by low-wage service jobs. "We must never be merely content with the progress we have made in Florida," Bush said. "We must always be restless. We must always strive to do better." Doing better, Bush said, comes from "kindness and caring," not government. "In the past, our response has been to raise more taxes, grow more government and embrace the thin fiction that if only we can hire one more social worker or complete one more form then we can somehow reverse these corrosive trends and salvage these lives," Bush said. "But while these intentions may be noble, these methods are folly. Government will never fill the hollowness of the human heart." Democrats said that Bush painted too rosy a picture of the state and that it was no coincidence Bush did not mention a looming budget shortfall of up to $4.5-billion. "Too many Florida families cannot afford health insurance, and too many seniors have to decide between food and prescription drugs," said Rep. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale. Bush's plan to rely on faith-based groups to strengthen families also was questioned by Democrats. "Should state government really be in the business of fostering morality?" asked Sen. Skip Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale. Bush's eldest son, George P., a 26-year-old law student, was master of ceremonies. Also present were Bush's parents, former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, who received warm ovations from the crowd. "Hey, it's great to be a dad today, I tell you," the former president said. He introduced Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead of the Florida Supreme Court, who administered the oath of office to the governor. Bush delivered his 15-minute inaugural address with a level of polish and self-confidence largely missing four years ago, when he read quickly, his eyes fixed on a teleprompter. The speech was written by Paul Bradshaw, a business lobbyist whose wife, Sally, is the governor's closest political adviser and was his first chief of staff. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, clutching a steaming cup of coffee to ward off the cold, said Bush's second inauguration may have been more satisfying than the first. "The people have had a chance to see him in action for four years and they've brought him back again," Baker said. As Bush finished his speech, he turned and hugged his daughter, Noelle, patting her twice on the back. Nineteen cannons were fired and a tight cluster of F-15 fighter jets screamed overhead in a cloudless North Florida sky. The inauguration, a quadrennial event steeped in tradition, drew the rich and powerful from near and far. They included the president of Uruguay, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, U.S. Ambassador to Italy Mel Sembler and Robert Mangieri of New York who said he has been a fundraiser for the Bushes for 30 years. "They're honest, they're decent and they're bringing a quality back to America that we'd lost," Mangieri said of the Bushes. "Personally, I like his belief in God, too." Johnny Hunter, who publishes Tempo News, an African-American newspaper in Sarasota and Manatee counties, said he supports Bush because he sincerely believes in diversity. "He's real, and he's willing to expend whatever political capital it takes to get his agenda across," Hunter said. Bush elaborated to reporters after his speech about his reference to his family. "I wasn't saying that I'm a horrible dad," he said. Bush said he married young and had children soon after, and figured that by the time he was 50 -- which is next month -- they would be grown and he and his wife, Columba, could travel and do what they wanted. That was wrong, Bush realized: "Dads need to be around. It doesn't matter how old the kids are. My dad is still there for me." Bush has said he has no interest in expending political capital on a campaign for president in 2008. But on a street near the Old Capitol, a hawker was selling buttons that said "Jeb Bush for President 2008." John Simonson of St. Louis said about a third of all proceeds would go to the Republican National Committee. "Get your Jeb Bush inauguration buttons," Simonson shouted. "Come on, show your Republican pride, folks. One for four (dollars), three for 10!" -- Times researchers Kitty Bennett and Aakash Patel contributed to this report.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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