Jeb Bush: ‘I am my own man’

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) in an address Wednesday argues that he is his “own man” on foreign policy, responding to critics who have sought to tie him to the controversial policies of his brother and father, both former presidents.

“I also have been lucky to have a father and a brother who both have shaped America’s foreign policy from the Oval Office,” Bush will say at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, according to his prepared remarks.

{mosads}”I recognize that as a result, my views will often be held up in comparison to theirs — sometimes in contrast to theirs,” Bush continues. “I love my father and my brother. I admire their service to the nation and the difficult decisions they had to make.

“But I am my own man — and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences,” he will say.

“Each president learns from those who came before — their principles … their adjustments,” says Bush. “One thing we know is this: Every president inherits a changing world … and changing circumstances.”

Bush is the brother of former President George W. Bush and son of former President George H.W. Bush.

The speech in Chicago on foreign policy comes as the former Florida governor weighs a 2016 run. Earlier this month, he delivered an economic address in Detroit and is reportedly planning visits to early voting states, including Iowa and New Hampshire.

In the address Wednesday, Bush also hammers at President Obama’s foreign policy, calling it “inconsistent and indecisive.”

“We have lost the trust and the confidence of our friends,” Bush will say. “We definitely no longer inspire fear in our enemies.

“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 says.

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