The governor of the second-largest state in America did not seem aware of the luridly coloured packets sharing space where his handkerchief should be but no one else seemed to notice either: his aides were too busy laughing at his jokes and the local people were too in awe of the great man to care.

Nevertheless, it was a nice touch. The everyday folk living in the tiny coastal town of Port St Joe love him for his mix-and-match style: charming, attentive and gauche enough to make them feel at home with enough of a statesmanlike manner to impress.

It is hard to imagine how this charming, canny man could be teetering on the brink of disaster but as the governor of one of America's most important states ponders whether to stand for re-election next September, a decision he must make in a few weeks, he knows that one false move could start a run of events that would throw him onto the political scrapheap, and the state back into the arms of the Democrats.

'The Bush family stands for what is right,' said Ricky Lichardello, a fisherman from neighbouring Appalachicola, gazing at the door of the community hall behind which Bush sat with his aides, listening to the travails of local people. 'Those Bush boys believe in the morals this country has had taken away, in God and in punishing wrong,' he added, removing his cap in a gesture of reverence. 'I voted for his daddy, for his brother and I voted for Jeb; he's our sort of man.'

Bush is many people's sort of man in this town, even among those who do not agree with his politics. Sally Malone, a registered Democrat, left her house in White Sunshine Lane, next to the local gun shop at 6.30am to make sure she got her chance to complain about his brother's decision to drill for oil off the coast of Florida.

'He doesn't say what I want to hear when he talks politics but he took notes when I was talking to him,' she said, slightly flustered after her meeting. 'How many men would do that? It's not very manly but it impressed me.'

In an exclusive interview with The Observer , Bush discussed the controversies that have turned his sunshine state cloudy, the rumours of two adulterous affairs and rebutted claims that voters will make him suffer for his brother's actions.

For a Catholic, rumours of two affairs - with Cynthia Henderson, an ex-Playboy bunny-girl and now chief of Florida's Department of Management Services, and with Florida's Secretary of State Katherine Harris - could be lethal in such a God-fearing state.

Bush, who has been married to his wife, Columba, for 27 years and has three children said: 'There is nothing to these rumours. They are outright lies which I imagine are political in nature... I say once more: I have been faithful to my wife.'

Bush is unconcerned by Democratic predictions that he is heading for disaster. He said: 'I love this job and my record of success speaks for itself. To be governor of Florida is one of the greatest jobs in the world: if I wasn't already governor, I'd be running for it myself.'

But in a growing state with a slowing economy, where racial tensions are high and election reforms are needed, even supporters believe that Bush is going to have trouble sorting out his own backyard while fighting off the voters' tendency to hold him jointly responsible for the President's actions.

'Jeb Bush is tied into the actions of his brother,' admitted Al Cardenas, chairman of the Florida Republican Party. 'Doomsayers will say, "Through his brother we'll attack Jeb". This isn't a problem when George W. is the great President he is capable of being but his decision to drill for oil on our coastline, for example, could be tough for Jeb.'

Bush dismissed such fears: 'People in this part of the state and other places discern the differences between the governor and the President. I've come out here today because it was important for me to hear the human concerns voiced by those who are impacted directly by my policies. People see me, not my brother in front of them today: they see me listening to their concerns and they see me adjusting the proposals so they're sensitive to those concerns.'

After losing his first run for governor in 1994, Bush underwent a Portillo-esque transformation, emerging as a kinder candidate who encouraged fellow Republicans to show more compassion toward the less fortunate and to concentrate on attracting more blacks and Hispanics into the party.

But last year saw a record number of marches made on the Capitol in Tallahassee by black activists while in January two black state lawmakers refused to leave Bush's office in protest at his proposal to end preferential race quotas in state university admissions.

Bush is still unable to admit wholehearted sorrow at the anger of ethnic minorities. 'Dissension is inevitable when changes are made,' he said calmly. Some high-profile Democrats have already thrown their hats into the ring to battle for governorship, including former US attorney general Janet Reno.

Reno said she was spurred into action after watching the impact Bush has had on her home state. 'I love Florida and I have serious concerns about its future under the present administration,' she said. She is not alone in her concerns but until Bush announces his intentions the race cannot begin and Democrats and Republicans alike must teeter on the edge of action, poised for the starting pistol.

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001

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