Could there be a third US President Bush? The current chief said Wednesday
that younger brother Jeb would make a great one, too, and has asked him about
making a run. The first US President Bush likes the idea as well.
US President Bush,
left, is introduced by his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, right, R-Fla., before
speaking on his Medicare Prescription Drug coverage plan at Kings Point
Club House, Tuesday, May 9, 2006 in Sun City Center, Fla.
[AP] |
Jeb Bush, the Republican governor of Florida, has one asset that his
presidential brother doesn't right now ¡ª approval from most of his constituents.
While George W. Bush's approval ratings are in the low 30s, some 55 percent of
Florida voters surveyed last month by Quinnipiac University said Jeb was doing a
good job.
The governor has repeatedly said he won't be a candidate for the US president
in 2008, but that doesn't stop his family from encouraging him to go for it some
day.
"I would like to see Jeb run at some point in time, but I have no idea if
that's his intention or not," the president said in an interview with Florida
reporters, according to an account on the St. Petersburg Times Web site.
He said his brother would make "a great president" and that he had "pushed
him fairly hard about what he intends to do."
"I truly don't think he knows," Bush said.
Jeb Bush, 53, will end his second term as governor in January. His brother
George ends his second presidential term in January 2009. Neither can seek
re-election because of term limits.
The governor got the buildup from his brother on the same day that he got
some bad news out of Tallahassee. Florida House Speaker Allan Bense said
Wednesday that despite personal appeals from the governor, he will not challenge
Rep. Katherine Harris (news, bio, voting record) for the party's nomination for
U.S. Senate.
Jeb Bush has said he doesn't think Harris, the former secretary of state
famous for her role in the 2000 Florida recount that clinched
George
Bush's presidential bid, can win the seat.
The Bush name could hurt as well as help in national politics right now. But
because of that familiar name and family connections throughout the country, Jeb
Bush has the luxury of being able to wait and decide if he wants to run while
other candidates have to get to work early.
"Right off the bat, if he decided to run, he's got the advantage over many of
the others who might be contenders," said Republican political consultant Rich
Galen, who has known the family since George H.W. Bush was vice president. "He
doesn't have to establish his name. He's got it."
And, Galen points out, Jeb Bush has dealt with a lot of high-profile issues
including hurricanes, immigration and sprawling development in one of the most
important political states.
His own father says no one believes him when he says he's not interested in
running at some point. Former President Bush told CNN's "Larry King Live" last
year that he would like Jeb to run one day and that the son would be "awfully
good" as president.
The Florida governor laughed when asked about his father's comments last June
and said, "Oh, Lord." He simply shook his head no when asked if he was running.
The brothers Bush appeared together Tuesday during the president's visit to
the Tampa area. Gov. Bush was waiting on the tarmac when Air Force One arrived
and greeted the president with a politician's handshake and "Welcome to
Florida." The president brushed aside the formality and playfully adjusted his
younger brother's necktie.
Jeb Bush introduced his brother at a retirement community in Sun City Center.
They had a private lunch together with political supporters, then visited a fire
station and appeared together before television cameras to express concern about
wildfires that were blazing across the state. The governor was not with the
president during his visit to The Puerto Rican Club of Central Florida in
Orlando Wednesday ¡ª George W. Bush's final stop on a three-day trip to the
state. But the president was sure his brother still got some attention.
"Yesterday I checked in with my brother," President Bush said as he took the
stage. "Make sure everything's going all right. I'm real proud of Jeb. He's a
good, decent man and I love him dearly."