In this case, we will gladly defend Jeb Bush

We were pretty rough on Jeb Bush yesterday over his highly inept and obscenely expensive campaign, and as you may recall it wasn't the first time. We have not been big fans around here. But that's of his presidential campaign. We never claimed that he isn't a good man (he is) or that he didn't do some good things as Florida governor (he did.) We just don't think he has the answers or the understanding for what the nation needs from a president today.

With that said, it will be our pleasure to defend Gov. Bush all day long against a creep like Michael Schiavo, who a decade ago fought like hell for the opportunity to let his wife Terri die, in spite of the fact that her parents and siblings begged him not to do so, and offered him the opportunity to walk away free and clear and leave her in their care. Schiavo now has his panties in a bunch because an image of Terri Schiavo is featured very briefly in a new Jeb ad that touts his pro-life credentials among other things. Here's the ad: That was simply too much for Michael Schiavo, who went running to the liberals at the Tampa Bay Times (the same people who run Politifact, you should always remember) to vent his rage at Bush:

"It is simply disgusting that Jeb Bush and his super Pac would exploit my wife’s tragedy for his crude political gain. Shame on Jeb Bush," said Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, who said she did not want to be kept alive in that state and was repeatedly challenged by Bush and Schiavo's parents and siblings.

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"Using his disgraceful intervention in our family’s private trauma to advance his political career shows that he has learned nothing. He’s proud of the fact that he used the machinery of government to keep a person alive through extraordinary artificial means -- contrary to the orders of the court that were based on the courts determination, made over 6 years of litigation, that doing so would be against her wishes," he said. "What the campaign video shows is that if he ever got his hands on the power of government again, he would do the same thing again, maybe next time to your family."

The only problem is that Bush didn't do anything to Schiavo's family. It was Michael Schiavo who did something to his wife's family. He denied them the opportunity to have Terri with them, when he had no reason to do so. Let's remember a few things that the liberals at the Tampa Bay Times who also run Politifact neglected to mention in this story. First, Michael Schiavo stood to inherit what was left of his wife's estate upon her death, but only if he was still married to her at the time of her death. If he divorced her and walked away as his family requested, he would have gotten nothing. Second, Schiavo had a girlfriend at the time all this was going on. Her name was Jodi Centzone and he had already had two children with her by the time the court gave the final order for Terri to die. He married Centzone in 2009. Look, I understand that it would not be easy to remain faithful to a wife who remains for years in a comatose state. But if you want out, and your wife's family is telling you it's OK for you to go because they will care for her, then walk away, marry your baby mama and leave your wife and her family to their lives. But no. Schiavo insisted on fighting a six-year legal battle with only one objective - his wife's death. Not for no reason did he become incensed when the new Bush ad referenced the case. People who do horrible things don't like it when the world is reminded of the things they did. Jeb Bush did the right thing by trying to intervene on behalf of Terri Schiavo and her family. There are a lot of reasons he should not be president, but the Schiavo case is not one of them. There are also a lot of reasons Michael Schiavo wants you to forget he exists. Notorious people usually do. But don't forget what he did, and don't let the media's retro-spin on the story convince you that it was about the "right-to-die" or "death with dignity" or any of that crap. It was about a guy's wish to get his wife out of the way so he could get some money and marry his mistress. That's it. Don't forget it.