Jeb Bush: I 'Misspoke' on Women's Health

Jeb Bush, having apparently remembered that women make up half the electorate, has walked back comments he made yesterday suggesting that too much money is spent on their health. "I'm not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues," he told a Southern Baptist convention yesterday as part of a discussion on defunding Planned Parenthood and spending the money elsewhere, reports the New York Times, which notes that the $500 million he was talking about is a small fraction of the roughly $1 trillion the federal government spends on health care every year.

Bush issued a statement last night saying he "misspoke" and "there are countless community health centers, rural clinics, and other women’s health organizations that need to be fully funded." But if Bush becomes the Republican nominee, video of the remarks "could be used to devastating effect in television ads against him next fall," notes Eli Stokols at Politico. Hillary Clinton quickly attacked the remarks, tweeting "You are absolutely, unequivocally wrong," CNN reports. "He's got no problem giving billions of dollars away to super wallet and powerful corporations but I guess women’s health just isn’t a priority for him," she told an audience last night. (More Jeb Bush stories.)