Jeb Bush: Listen, Learn and Lead! ; We will build a new Generation of leadership

"It is tough around the country. People are scared. They're anxious. They're fearful for their savings. They're wondering how they're going to retire. Those are short-term challenges that we need to face.

"And then there are the longer-term challenges related to things that we haven't been able to deal with in a substantial way that we need to. We need to pause what we're doing and as a country realize that the greatness of our country is in peril if we can't figure out to deal with the ticking time bomb of our entitlement challenges of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. If we can't figure out how the greatest country on the face of the Earth continues to be that way as it relates to being competitive in a world that is moving at warp speed, changing dramatically, where the China's and the India's have a command focus for economic growth and it does create opportunities for us but it also creates great challenges.

"You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that,"

"My reason for being here is that I think ideas have consequences and that we ought to have a thoughtful discussion about those ideas. From the conservative side, it's time for us to listen first, to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit, to not be nostalgic about the past because things do ebb and flow and it's nice to remember the good old days when the good guys if you're a conservative were in power or if you're a liberal, remember nostalgically when they were in power. None of that matters right now. What we need to do is to listen, to learn and then there will be a new generation of leaders that will lead.

"Listen, learn, lead and that's what I believe this National Council can provide is a chance to create a forum for people to truly listen and then to create a consensus around 21st century ideas that truly matter for American families. And then hopefully - God willing - embrace our conservative principles and take these new ideas and present them to the American people in elections and all sorts of other ways and lead."