Jeb Bush's new ad touting his record in Florida doesn't say what he did in Florida

Before Rick Scott was governor of Florida, Charlie Crist was. Before that, the governor was Jeb Bush. Now Bush would like to be president of the United States, so naturally he's made an ad about how his record as governor of Florida was awesome.

But it's a little weird. Watch it, and you'll see it doesn't actually say what he did as governor of Florida:

Jeb and his admirers make the following claims:

• "It was about big ideas."
• "He crushed the status quo."
• "He's taken on the vested interest."
• "He seizes onto problems, and he creates solutions."
• "Across the board, we reformed things."
• "We turned the place upside down."
• "I felt like I was part of a revolution."
• "The Jeb that I know was completely unafraid to take on the establishment."
• "He doesn't lose sight of the goal."
• "He had a vision of how he wanted to see the state of Florida when he left office."

This sounds like a really interesting story!

Moment by moment, it's a really well-crafted ad that succeeds in making you interested in this governor from the relatively distant past and the revolutionary political change he unleashed in Florida. But there's no punchline. What did he actually do? What good things happened as a result? Was Florida a terrible place to live before Bush took office? Is it a fantastic place to live now? What Bush initiatives account for the change? Which of them could be applied to national politics?

The ad … just doesn't say. Maybe it's the setup for a forthcoming, even-more-awesome ad.

Or maybe nothing all that significant improved in Florida public policy, but Jeb's term in office coincided with an enormous housing bubble that made tax cuts look affordable — and then the state economy completely collapsed the year after he left office.

WATCH: At least Jeb isn't touting his fantasy football record

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via