Jeb Bush backs Michigan governor over Flint crisis

As the crisis over the poisoned water in Flint threatens to engulf Rick Snyder, the Michigan governor is surely looking for friends. He found one on Sunday: Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Bush said that, while the scandal in Flint is “horrific,” Snyder was handling the situation well.

“He’s taken responsibility,” he said. “And I admire that. He’s not saying that it’s someone else’s fault. He’s rolling up his sleeves and trying to deal with this.”

Asked if he thought Snyder should resign, Bush said, “No, he needs to do what he’s doing, which is to accept responsibility and begin to solve the problem,” adding that he thinks Snyder has “been a great governor for Michigan.”

Many in Flint would likely disagree, as Fusion’s Casey Tolan found when he went to the city recently:

“We all should be worried because of what’s going on,” said Elaine Dantzler, 63, as she walked out of the testing room, wearing a commemorative hat for Obama’s 2009 inauguration. “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

I asked her who she thought was responsible. Her eyes narrowed. “Snyder,” she said with a near-hiss, referring to the governor, Rick Snyder.