Jeb Bush Finally Acknowledges His Love for Marco Rubio

Rubio holding the sword Bush presented him with in 2006

​For months now Jeb Bush has had to keep his political love for Marco Rubio silent in deference to Charlie Crist. But now that Crist is running as an independent (a move that, at least in the short run, seems to be paying off), Bush is free to shout his endorsement of Rubio from the hill tops.

Bush has been critiquing Crist for month, while praising Rubio while stopping short of full-on endorsement. Now that it's finally come, the former Governor takes a few swipes at the man who followed him in the Gov's chair.

"Washington is broken, and Marco Rubio is the only candidate in this race that I trust to help fix it," said Bush in a statement issued by the Rubio campaign. "He is a bright, passionate and principled leader who approaches public service with a servant's heart and a reformer's detail for policy. Reforming Washington will not be easy and will require leaders who stay true to their principles even when the odds are stacked against them. The last thing the Senate needs is another politician who has to take a poll to make a decision."

Bush's sons have been backing Rubio from the start, and when Rubio was sworn in as Speaker of the House in 2006, Bush presented him with a sword, dubbing him something of a conservative warrior.

"I hope all Floridians will ask themselves whether they want their next Senator to be a rubber stamp for the Obama agenda, or to stand up to it and offer a clear conservative alternative. I am proud to endorse Marco Rubio for Senate and pledge to do everything I can to make sure he is elected this November," Bush concluded.