Former Gov. Bush, in home-state Florida, pans Clinton, Trump

The former Florida Governor and Republican Presidential hopeful addressed a crowd of about 900 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

But he contrasted himself, repeatedly and unprompted, with Trump, who lives part-time in a Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Bush, who trails Trump and much of the rest of the GOP field, was both feisty and reasoned at Monday’s talk to the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches.

Earlier, at the breakfast rally held at Chico’s Cuban restaurant, Bush knocked Trump for taking advice from Saturday and Sunday morning TV shows “in his pajamas”. He’s bottom (and gone), I’m top (by a lot).

“I don’t think it’s a good strategy to talk about the past”, Bush said. “If we don’t beat Hillary Clinton, or we don’t beat the Democratic nominee, then it’s all jibber jabber, it’s all just talking”. Undoubtedly, inside his head, a number of buzz word alarms went off at once, causing him to launch into the following lesson more about how to ungracefully lose an election than anything else.

No one mentioned Florida Sen.

Despite slipping in the polls, Bush remains optimistic.

Jeb Bush spoke to a packed house in Ocala.

“There are candidates running who are gifted politicians but they’ll never beat Hillary Clinton”, he said.

Bush also talked up issues of specific interest to Floridians. “That’s what US needs!” he tweeted.

He said President Barack Obama has no strategy to defeat the terrorist group ISIS. On Tuesday, he’s back in New Hampshire, the state with the first in the nation primary – and the one the Bush camp is counting on to resuscitate his candidacy. “It’s already my second home”.

“It’s going to be a great new year”, he said.

As of Monday morning, Trump was leading the GOP field with the support of 37.5 percent of likely primary voters, according to the survey aggregator HuffPost Pollster.