Gov. Jeb Bush, a devout Catholic, credited the Virgin of Guadaloupe
with interceding on his brother George's behalf during the 2000
presidential election.
BY MARC CAPUTO
Miami Herald
TALLAHASSEE - Exactly 469 years after the Virgin of Guadalupe was
said to have appeared in Mexico, Gov. Jeb Bush was marveling at
another act of higher intervention: The U.S. Supreme Court's
decision to make his brother president.
That happened four years ago. Monday, Bush, a devout Catholic who
met his wife in Mexico, recalled the Dec. 12 manifestation date when
a body of unelected officials -- Florida's presidential electors --
certified his brother's recent win by 380,978 votes with little
drama.
In 2000, George W. Bush won by a 537-vote margin that plunged
Florida into 37 days of divisive bickering and nonstop news
coverage. Jeb Bush didn't miss any of that turmoil at all Monday
when he mentioned the story of the Virgin Mary's ability to unify.
She is said to have appeared on Dec. 12, 1531, to a peasant on the
temple site of an Aztec goddess, uniting Aztec and Catholic culture.
''Four years ago was the culmination, if you recall. . . of a lot of
anguish, a lot of tension that isn't my style. I didn't really
appreciate all the satellite dishes out here. And the night of the
appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe, on Dec. 12, was the day. That
night the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the president,'' the
governor said.
''That was the more emotional day, Dec. 12,'' he said. ``This year,
the election was over on election night. So we've kind of moved on.''
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