Florida Governor Jeb Bush, asked whether he knew previously of his older brother's 1976 drunk driving arrest, said he did not recall it among the many stories told in the family about George W. Bush's behavior in those years.
"I'm not saying that my brother was an angel 24 years ago -- he wasn't," Jeb Bush told an interviewer on Fox News Sunday.
"There are enough stories about George in the past, but I didn't recall this one," Jeb Bush said in an amused tone. "He was a rambunctious young guy. Look, he's not hiding it, he's never said that he was this guy that never drank or never did anything wrong."
Jeb Bush said the first time he heard of his older brother's conviction for drink driving was "On the news. Whenever it was -- a couple of days ago."
"Twenty-four years ago, I don't remember this happening," he said.
"Twenty-four years ago my brother was a different person ... He wasn't ready to be president then. But life is a journey, you know, not everything is just set ... and my brother has transformed himself into a loving, strong husband and father and leader."
"He's a role model for me," Jeb Bush added.
Jeb Bush, 47, has been governor of Florida, a key electoral state in Tuesday's presidential election, since January 1999. The Republican presidential candidate is governor of Texas.
The Republican campaign had reportedly been pressing Jeb Bush to put greater effort into rallying Florida voters behind his brother's bid for the White House. In television appearances Monday, George W. Bush jokingly warned of a "cold" Thanksgiving family reunion later this month if he did not get more support from his brother in this battleground state -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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