'You have to win with ideas, you have to win with policies,' Jeb Bush said. Jeb warns 2012ers on hitting Obama

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush warned the Republican presidential hopefuls against ideological intransigence and knee-jerk opposition to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying they risk turning off middle-of-the-road voters.

Asked by Fox News host Neil Cavuto if some Republicans go too far in their criticism of Obama, Bush said flatly, “I do. I think when you start ascribing bad motives to the guy, that’s wrong. It turns off people who want solutions.


“It’s fine to criticize him, that’s politics,” said Bush, the younger brother of former President George W. Bush, who again reiterated that he won’t run for president himself. “But just to stop there isn’t enough. You have to win with ideas, you have to win with policies. … He’s made a situation that was bad worse. He’s deserving of criticism for that. He’s not deserving of criticism for the common cold on up.”

“If you’re a conservative, you have to persuade. You can’t just be against the president,” he added.

Breaking with the GOP field, Bush said he’d be willing to accept new revenues as part of a deficit-reduction package.

“I think the problems are so severe in this country that leadership is required to find common ground and solutions,” he said.

But he pushed back against billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s suggestion that taxes be raised on the rich.

“The problem with Warren Buffett’s attitude is he’s talking about people who are already rich, and his policies I think may create a lid on people who are aspiring to be rich,” Bush said. “There are 10 other aspiring Warren Buffetts that will find it harder to become rich.”

And Bush played down widespread reports of tensions between Perry and the Bush clan, though he acknowledged that Bush political architect Karl Rove harbors some of his own resentment.

“I’ve never heard anybody in my family say anything but good things about Rick Perry,” Bush said. “Maybe with Karl — he’s around here all the time, you can ask him. Not with my brother and not with me.”