Jeb Bush praises Obama on education

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) reached across the aisle to praise President Obama on education reform this morning.

President Obama has angered teachers' unions by supporting merit pay, a policy that would pay teachers based on their students' test scores.

Obama has also called for a longer school year, while teachers' unions have proposed shorter school weeks to prevent layoffs.

"I am very, very encouraged, and excited that the president has taken on a core constituency of his party, which is the teachers union," Bush said on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Bush said that the administration had shown support for greater accountability, data-driven decision making, more charter schools and improvements in teacher effectiveness.

"The Obama administration, to their credit seem, to be very supportive of these things," Bush said. "I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised."