Jeb Bush Defers Decision on Prez Run Until Late 2014

I’m deferring the decision to the right time which is later this year and the decision will be based on, can I do it joyfully, because I think we need to have candidates lift our spirits. It’s a pretty pessimistic country right now; and, is it right for my family? So I don’t even want to think about that till it’s the right time and that’s later on.

— Jeb Bush, telling CBS Miami he’s not ready to decide on a 2016 presidential bid. Said Bush: “I’m going to think about it later. I don’t wake up each day saying, ‘What am I going to do today to make this decision?'”

Crist Holds Lead Over Scott in Florida Governor Race

46% to 38%

Margin by which Charlie Crist (D) is leading Gov. Rick Scott (R) in the governor’s race, according to a new Quinnipiac poll in Florida. Pollster Peter Brown: “The best number in this poll for Crist — and the biggest problem for Scott — is that a majority of Florida voters say the current governor does not deserve a second term in Tallahassee. Voters also give Crist a higher job approval for when he ran the state than any approval rating Scott has received in his three years on the job.”

In the South, the Immigration Reform Debate Comes Down to Racism

Part of it, I think — and I hate to say this, because these are my people — but I hate to say it, but it’s racial. If you go to town halls people say things like, ‘These people have different cultural customs than we do.’ And that’s code for race.

— A Southern Republican congressman, speaking to BuzzFeed, on immigration reform.