Jeb Jumps In 

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush yesterday formally declared his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. His announcement showed all the hallmarks of a well-financed campaign -- excellent choreography and lots of energy. 

As expected, Bush highlighted his record as governor of Florida. And he also struck a few notes likely to appeal to a broad spectrum of voters. For example, Bush made it clear that he intends to run against Washington, as an outsider, when he said:
 

"We will also challenge the culture that has made lobbying the premier growth industry in the nation's capital. . . . We don't need another president who merely holds the top spot among the pampered elites of Washington. 

"We need a president willing to challenge and disrupt the whole culture in our nation's capital. I will be that president because I was a reforming governor, not just another member of the club."

Bush also said that the presidency does not belong to anyone "by right of resume, party, seniority, family, or family narrative. . . .  It's everybody's test, and it's wide open." 

This was a clear admission that he understands the unease many Americans have with, as CNN put it, "a political system seemingly dominated by a pair of powerful families." 

And it is particularly problematic for Governor Bush. A new Rasmussen poll finds that by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, voters are less likely to support Bush because of his family's presidential past. 

There is some controversy this morning about Bush abandoning English and delivering a couple of paragraphs in Spanish. But at this point that probably represents an acknowledgement of the changing political reality in America. 

So with both presumed party frontrunners now declared, the battle is joined. But don't lose sight of this fact: Many pundits have said that if Jeb Bush decided to run he would clear the field. 

Instead, we have one of the largest fields in modern history and it is still growing. (See next item.) And in most polls Jeb Bush is just one candidate in a crowded contest, but with more money than most. 

Trump In, Carson Up, Sanders Closing 

Billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV host Donald Trump joined the race for the White House today. With his bombastic demeanor and flare for self-promotion, it can be difficult to take "The Donald" seriously. While he presented conservative and populist themes in his speech today, his donations to political candidates skew to the left. 

A new poll by Monmouth University finds Dr. Ben Carson leading the GOP primary with 11%. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was second at 10%, followed by Senator Rubio and Governor Bush at 9%. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was 8%, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul had 6% and Texas Senator Ted Cruz had 5%. 

Meanwhile, the Democratic primary in New Hampshire appears to be heating up. A new Suffolk University poll finds Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders within 10 points of Hillary Clinton -- 31% to 41%. 

Now They Got Religion? 

In recent years, the left has been at war with the Catholic Church and the pope. Whenever Pope John Paul II spoke about the sanctity of life, liberal leaders would insist that his remarks meant nothing. 

Nancy Pelosi once suggested that the Catholic Church didn't know its own position on abortion. Church leaders were quick to correct her. 

When Pope Benedict spoke about marriage as an institution ordained by God between one man and one woman, liberals told the pontiff to keep his faith to himself.

But now that Pope Francis appears ready to embrace the left's agenda of climate change, the left is quick to embrace this pope. Today's Washington Post has a front page story praising Francis for his leadership.

In fact, the Post goes so far as to declare a leaked draft of the pope's upcoming statement as "a possible victory in the climate debate that could finally help to break a political logjam." 

Isn't that interesting? For decades the left has worked feverishly to convince conservatives that moral values have no place in public policy. But whenever the left can co-opt faith to promote its socialist economic agenda or radical anti-family ideas, suddenly it finds religion. 

By the way, the Obama Administration spent more than $4 billion of your hard-earned tax dollars in so-called "stimulus funds" to improve the energy efficiency of government buildings. Presumably it is doing some good, but government auditors really don't know. 

An inspector general's report found that efficiency reporting data were, in many cases, "incomplete, outdated, and unverified." And in one case, estimated "cost savings wouldn't kick in for 4,617 years."