The Washington Post managed to obtain through a Florida public records request something you will never obtain through a public records request in Indiana--tens of thousands of e-mails former Gov. Jeb Bush wrote during his two terms as Florida's governor. Bush earlier said he would release the e-mails early next year, but the Post didn't wait until then. The pro-Bush Post describes the e-mails as underscoring "two constants present from the beginning of his political career: the challenges he faced with conservatives in his own party and an intense, detail-oriented engagement as an executive."
The Post said the e-mails show Bush personally responding to job applicants, pressing staff assistants on the list of invitees to events and frequent e-mail exchanges with constituents. His primary policy focus was on education, taxes and health care during his tenure as governor from 1999 to 2007. The Post describes Bush as a sometimes-flip writer who frequently used words like "awesome," "my bad," and "chill out." The e-mails do not include any communications Bush made concerning legal or personnel matters, which are specifically exempt under Florida's public records law.
As Bush wrote e-mails, he was mindful state law would force their disclosure at some point. In one e-mail early in his administration, he admonished two staffers discussing vacation time, saying their communications might some day become fodder for a newspaper article. "I suggest that you guys have a verbal conversation about it rather than create a public document.:)." Bush reportedly spent as much as 30 hours a week reading and writing e-mails, frequently sending them in the wee hours of the morning.
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