Jeb Bush's struggle to say what he means continues

Bush's team had a different interpretation. Bush never said he wanted to replace Medicare, spokesman Tim Miller argued, adding that the former governor was referring to the changes he's been talking about for months on the campaign trail, such as increasing the retirement age and means testing to make wealthier Americans pay more.  "It's an obvious attempt to take him out of context," Miller said.

While Miller's irritation was somewhat justified a few weeks ago, here the trouble is of Bush's own causing. The "new program" he was talking about may well have been more Medicare with more means testing, and a higher retirement age. But that language is at best imprecise, particularly for a debate, as Bush himself noted, that easily can be distorted.

While Bush hasn't released specifics about his own Medicare plan, an often-mentioned change would raise the eligibility age from 65 to 67. The effect of that change would reduce the budget deficit—projected to increase to about $1 trillion over 10 years—by about $19 billion during that time, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation notes that such a move may also increase premiums on both the young and old.

Bush also hasn't been specific about exactly what he means by means testing, a concept that is so popular its been approved several times by Congress. The Medicare Modernization Act, enacted in 2003, increased premiums on individuals earning more than $85,000 a year. High-earners shouldered more of the Medicare burden under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and again this year under a bipartisan plan to maintain reimbursements to Medicare doctors.

After the event in Manchester, Bush was approached by an activist tied to 350 Action, a New York-based environmental group, who wanted to know what Bush was going to do about tax breaks for big oil. Oil tycoons Richard Kinder, Ray Lee Hunt, Jeffery Hildebrand, Trevor Rees-Jones, and T. Boone Pckens all donated to Bush's campaign, according to disclosures.

Bush, to the activists surprise, said he wanted to eliminate them all. But smile soon faded as Bush explained what he meant by "all."

"We should phase out, through tax reform, the tax credits for wind, for solar, for the oil and gas sector, for all this stuff," Bush said, adding that "the best way" was to "let markets decide this."

When the activist protested about cutting subsidies for renewable energy, Bush pounced. "You want to pick winners and losers," the Republican said. "I don't think we should pick winners and losers. Tax reform ought to be to lower the rate as far you can, and eliminate as many of these subsidies; All of the things that impede the ability in a more dynamic way to get to where we need to get, which is low cost energy that is respectful of the environment."

The problem here is, again, one of definitions.

Bush hasn't been very specific yet about what he wants to do with the tax code. But when he talks about eliminating "credits" for energy, that's likely to have a disproportionate effect on renewable sources.

Solar and wind energy producers get their tax benefits in the form of tax credits. Oil and gas producers typically don't, instead enjoying faster write-offs, deductions and some favorable accounting rules that aren't "credits."

Sahil Kapur and Richard Rubin contributed to this report.

See also: View: Jeb Bush's Medicaid reforms didn't go well