Wiretap: Jeb Bush’s next-generation compassionate conservativism

 
It’s too late to complain about all the stories about 2016. They’re unavoidable. And now Jeb Bush says he will decide whether he’s running for president by the end of the year. And the Washington Post has a fascinating story on how the other contenders have found experts to tutor them in the “credentials caucus.” But the big story was that Bush, who has already defied convention with his strong support for the common core, has now done the same on immigration — saying that crossing the border illegally is often an “act of love.” Yes, love. What in the name of Tom Tancredo was he thinking? Well, this:

“The way I look at this is someone who comes to our country because they couldn’t come legally, they come to our country because their families — the dad who loved their children — was worried that their children didn’t have food on the table. And they wanted to make sure their family was intact, and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work to be able to provide for their family. Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony. It’s an act of love. It’s an act of commitment to your family. I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime that there should be a price paid, but it shouldn’t rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families.”

Former CIA director Michael Hayden says that Dianne Feinstein’s concerns about the CIA’s torture issues come from “deep emotional feeling.” Yes, the lady is emotional. It’s likely that those who were waterboarded were emotional, too. Via the New Yorker.

Doyle McManus writes in the Los Angeles Times that Obamacare is too big to fail. It can’t be repealed – but it can be fixed.

Ezra Klein’s Vox.com is up and running. And for its debut, Klein offers up a long read about why politics makes us stupid. It will definitely make you smarter if you read it.

Conor Friedersdorf writes in the Atlantic that Mozilla’s decision to use a gay-marriage litmus test for its CEO violates basic liberal principles in liberal Silicon Valley.

Mickey Rooney put on a show for most of his 93 years. The New York Times obit.

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