Beyond the current debate, Bush faults Republicans with not offering a more inclusive message to Hispanics during the 2012 campaign. He says Mitt Romney moved so far to the right on immigration that it proved "all but impossible" for the Republican presidential nominee to appeal to Hispanic voters last year.
In the book, Bush blames both parties for a lack of leadership and courage on pursuing immigration reform. He accuses Obama of breaking a campaign promise to enact immigration reform during his first year, "which he easily could have accomplished given commanding Democratic majorities in Congress." On the right, he says many lawmakers "denounce as 'amnesty' any proposal that falls short of the deportation of all illegal immigrants."
Bush's own brother George W. Bush tried but failed during the final years of his presidency to get a comprehensive immigration reform bill through Congress.
Bush has kept a high profile on policy issues like education reform and immigration but downplayed speculation that he may seek the White House and follow the path of his father, President George H.W. Bush, and his older brother. Bush's media tour will take him across the nation and he plans to address conservative activists later this month at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
In an interview with NBC's "Today," Bush said he wants to "share my beliefs about how the conservative movement and the Republican Party can regain its footing, because we've lost our way." He declined to rule out a run in 2016, but said with a smile, "I won't declare today, either."
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Associated Press writers Erica Werner and Luis Alonso contributed to this report.
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