Apparently, the pattern this election cycle is going to be: surrogate makes off-message statements, media explodes in glee (division! tension among the ranks!), surrogate hastily clarifies. Cory Booker did it in a four-minute web video, Bill Clinton did another TV interview, and Jeb Bush has opted for Twitter. After saying yesterday that Ronald Reagan perhaps couldn’t be elected by today’s Republicans, Bush tweeted today, “The point I was making yesterday is this: The political system today is hyperpartisan. Both sides are at fault,” and added, “My dad & Reagan sacrificed political points for good public policy.” In another tweet, he made it clear that he also held Democrats responsible: “Past 4 years, Democrats have held leadership roles w/opportunities to reach across political aisle. For sake of politics, they haven’t.”
But he also took a jab at the media, tweeting “Am reminded today why I rarely read headlines. #ContextIsImportant“