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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says the nation's efforts to fight poverty over the past several decades have failed.
Speaking to a mostly African-American audience at the annual conference of the National Urban League, Bush said the war on poverty involved "massive government programs, funded with trillions of taxpayer dollars." And he says though it was well-intentioned, it was unsuccessful.
Bush says his own record as governor of Florida -- particularly in education -- serves as a blueprint for a national anti-poverty effort. He said, "If we don't create an education system that allows young people to reach it, we're setting them up for a lifetime of failure."
The conference of the civil rights group marked the first time during the campaign that Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared at the same event.
Clinton told the group that race "still plays a significant role in determining who gets ahead in America." She spoke of blacks receiving longer prison sentences than whites, and said blacks are three times more likely to be denied a mortgage loan. And she said anyone who seeks the presidency has a responsibility to deal with those inequities.
%@AP Links
164-a-13-(Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate, speaking at National Urban Legue convention)-"a losing one"-Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says decades of massive government spending on inner cities has achieved little. (31 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *164 (07/31/15)££ 00:13 "a losing one"
166-a-13-(Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate, speaking at National Urban Legue convention)-"on the difference"-Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says the best anti-poverty program is a pro-growth agenda. (31 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *166 (07/31/15)££ 00:13 "on the difference"
163-a-12-(Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate, speaking to National Urban League convention)-"when they're elected"-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says candidates like Jeb Bush need to do more than just talk the talk on opportunity, they need to walk the walk. (31 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *163 (07/31/15)££ 00:12 "when they're elected"
161-a-13-(Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate, speaking to National Urban League convention)-"afford health care"-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says there's a mismatch between what former Florida Governor Jeb Bush says about empowering families -- and the policy positions he's taken. (31 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *161 (07/31/15)££ 00:13 "afford health care"
APPHOTO FLWL102: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks before the National Urban League, Friday, July 31, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The State Department is releasing fewer-than-expected numbers of Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails. It says the process is slower because of intense scrutiny by U.S. intelligence agencies to ensure that emails from her private server don't contain any sensitive or classified government secrets. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (31 Jul 2015)
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APPHOTO FLWL113: Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush waves to the audience after speaking to the National Urban League, Friday, July 31, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (31 Jul 2015)
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