JEB? THERE'S NO SHAME IN CHANGING YOUR MIND

All parents are consigned to a life of fretting about their children -
their health, their futures and certainly the anxiety over receiving that
late-night call from the cops that your kid is in jail.

It matters little that Noelle Bush is a 24-year-old woman. You pretty well
can be sure that in the eyes of her parents, Jeb and Columba Bush, she is
still their little girl - a little girl in an awful lot of trouble.

Apparently it was the prospect of starting a new job in the fairly benign
role as an administrative assistant for a software company that prompted
the anxiety attack that landed Noelle Bush in her current pickle.

Imagine the stress young Miss Bush must be feeling now that her mug shot
has been broadcast around the world after her arrest in Tallahassee on a
charge of prescription fraud.

Stress? When your mother has adopted drug abuse as her cause and your
father is a tough-on-crime Florida governor and your uncle is the president
of the United States and a TV satellite farm suddenly has appeared in front
of your apartment, Noelle Bush might well be thinking to herself that she
probably could have gotten through the night after all with a nice cup of
green tea.

Instead, police say, young Miss Bush attempted to get a phony prescription
filled for the sedative Xanax and in the process faces a possible - but
highly unlikely - five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine on a third-degree
felony charge.

Public life can be the mother of all white elephants.

Elixir Of Power

At its best, for people like Jeb Bush, there is the thrill of election
night victory, the adulation of literally millions of people, influence
wielded, favors granted, scores settled and always, always the elixir of power.

Oh, and the governor's mansion isn't too shabby.

Jeb Bush has the power to mold this state in his political image - from
education to the economy and the environment. It is all in his hands.

With a stroke of a pen, the governor can send men and women to their
deaths. He can pick up a phone and speak to the most powerful leader on the
face of the planet.

Yet he couldn't save his daughter from herself.

And that is sad and tragic and heartbreaking - an abject lesson for parents
who have ever watched their child leave the nest with a lingering feeling
of utter helplessness.

For all their collective power, fame and status, would it be any wonder if
Jeb and Columba Bush felt like the most impotent couple in the state right
about now?

In the modern political world, the ``Gotcha!'' game is a blood sport.

Nothing delights a political figure's foes more than the sight of the
hapless public official hoist with his own petard of hypocrisy, or
contradiction, or duplicity.

An ardent supporter of fighting the ravages of drug abuse, the governor
steadfastly has opposed proposals calling for treatment over jail time for
certain classes of nonviolent drug addicts, arguing such steps would limit
the sentencing powers of judges unfairly.

That might make for good politics but lousy family gatherings.

Could anyone fault Jeb Bush if he had a change of heart? After all, he's
been a parent a lot longer than he's been a governor and, long after he
leaves office, he'll still be Noelle's dad.

How About A Schwinn?

This is not to suggest Miss Bush should receive a slap on the wrist. Quite
the contrary. It is not too terribly presumptuous to make the case that
this is a deeply troubled young woman in dire need of intensive and
extensive professional treatment for her drug problems and the inner
demons, which brought her and her family to this embarrassing crossroad.

She needs a couch, not a cell.

And if ever a politician deserved a pass on reversing course over a
previously stated public policy position, Jeb Bush more than qualifies.

And he should, not just for his family but for all families across the
state struggling daily with their own Noelles.

That wouldn't make him less of a conservative, just a more compassionate
parent.

There's one thing the governor can do right away, though.

Since 1995, state records show Noelle Bush has been in three auto
accidents, received seven speeding tickets and five other traffic tickets.

Uh, governor? Have you thought of buying your daughter a bicycle?