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Florida Gov. Jeb Bush surprised the nation on Wednesday evening when at the Republican debate he declared he would put former British leader Margaret Thatcher on the $10 bill.
"I would go with Ronald Reagan's partner Margaret Thatcher," Bush said.
"Probably illegal, but what the heck?" he joked. "Since it's not going to happen: A strong leader is what we need in the White House, and she certainly was a strong leader that restored the United Kingdom into greatness."
Bush's history of anglophilia in fact goes back decades.
In 1994, asked to name his heroes, Bush responded, "Winston Churchill, my father, and my mother."
In a 1998 newspaper survey, Bush listed The Last Lion (a Churchill biography) as his favorite book.
In 2002 interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Bush again picked the book as one that had a lasting impact on his life.
"When I got a little older, I read the book The Last Lion," said Bush. "It was about Sir Winston Churchill . . . a man I admire greatly."
Interestingly, today, Bush lists "our founding documents" as his favorite book.
