Why Jeb Bush is making headlines and some waves

BUSH?

Yup. Who else.

AW C’MON...IS THIS ABOUT HIS CANDIDATURE FOR THE US PRESIDENCY AGAIN?

No.

HE MUST HAVE SAID SOMETHING ATROCIOUS THEN. HE IS A LOT LIKE HIS BROTHER GEORGE ON THAT COUNT.

Well, it’s about something he said two decades ago which has come back to haunt him.

THAT’S OUR JEB…WHAT EXACTLY WAS IT THAT HE SAID?

He has come under fire in the media this week for a suggestion he made in 1995 that women who give birth out of wedlock should be publicly shamed.

WHAT? WHY DID HE SAY SO?

Jeb felt then that more young women were giving birth out of wedlock and more young men were walking away from their paternal obligations as there was no stigma attached to casual sex.

WHAT ELSE?

He also said that seeing a young unwed pregnant friend, more young women were likely to experiment with premarital sex and the only cure was public shaming.

WHERE DID HE SAY THIS?

In his book Profiles in Character which was published before he took to public office. Jeb Bush reminded his readers that there was a time when neighbours andcommunities would frown on out of wedlock births and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be careful.

SO DID ANY OF THIS MAKE ITS WAY INTO LAW WHEN HE WAS A GOVERNOR?

Yes, it did. A "Scarlet Letter law" went into effect in Florida during Jeb Bush's tenure as the state's governor. It forced mothers who did not know the identity of their child's father to publish their sexual histories in a newspaper before putting the child up for adoption. While Bush did not veto the 2001 bill, he repealed it two years later after it was challenged in court.

AND NOW HE IS FACING THE HEAT…AFTER 20 YEARS?

Yup. Now it's Jeb who has to deal with shame.