Jeb: George W. Bush my closest adviser on Israel

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) named his brother, former President George W. Bush, as his closest counselor on U.S.-Israel policy, according to The Washington Post.

“If you want to know who I listen to for advice, it’s him,” Bush said at an event hosted by Republican donor Paul Singer.

Jeb Bush is exploring a run for the White House and is expected to enter the race this summer. A spokesman said Bush’s comment at the event was in line with his previous statements.

{mosads}“Governor Bush has said before that his brother is the greatest ally to Israel in presidential history, he admires his stalwart support for our ally, and that is in line with his commitment to standing with Israel in the face of great threats to their security and our own,” Jeb Bush spokesman Tim Miller told the Post.

Some observers have questioned whether Bush’s famous family could hurt his chances in the presidential race, given that his brother’s administration was deeply unpopular upon leaving office.

Even as he has taken on foreign policy advisers who were close to his brother and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush has stressed his independence.

“I also have been lucky to have a father and a brother who both have shaped America’s foreign policy from the Oval Office,” he said in February.

“But I am my own man — and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences,” he said.

The Democratic National Committee was quick to criticize Bush for the reported comments.

“The Jeb Bush Doctrine is to put blinders on to the failures of the past, cheerlead go-it-alone diplomacy and embrace a shoot-first, talk-later foreign policy. Sound familiar? That same foreign policy was the one that weakened us at home and abroad under George W Bush. So much for Jeb being his own man,” spokeswoman Kristin Sosanie said in a statement.