Another President Bush? Will Jeb Bush Set Sights on the White House?
Jeb Bush is quietly raising his profile.
July 22, 2010 -- This probably isn't the first time you've heard someone ask if Jeb Bush is going to run for president. It won't be the last.
Political dynasties don't just die off, especially when they control the presidency for 12 of 22 years and have in their depth chart the extremely popular former governor of a key swing state.
Some political observers say by all rights, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush should be running for president. He has strong conservative credentials, an impeccable political pedigree, can appeal to the all-important Hispanic population, and could do well in his home state, which is populous, up for grabs, and often decides general elections.
But if you go to his website, jeb.org, there is a blank page. Is it waiting to be filled with a platform? Or is it left over from older ambitions?
No doubt the Bush brand is damaged. When Jeb's brother George W. left office in 2009, fewer than three in ten Americans approved of his presidency.
But there is hope among Republicans that stigma is beginning to fade.
"I think a lot of people are looking back with a little -- with more fondness on President Bush's administration, and I think history will treat him well," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex, who is in charge of getting Republicans elected to the Senate in 2010, told C-Span this week.
Many conservatives have long hoped Jeb Bush would play a bigger national role, but he has kept a low profile since leaving the Florida governor's mansion in 2007.
The question that lingers on many Republican lips when asked about whether he should join the fray and run for President is this: "Is it too soon?"
The answers vary.
"Given the way the Obama administration is going, I think it's not too soon," said one Florida Republican who asked not be identified so as not to appear to be taking sides.
"It's just too soon," said one Washington Republican who requested anonymity for the same reason.
Jeb Bush has been out of office for two years and owns a consulting business, which doesn't appear to have any website. He is a senior advisor to Barclay's Capitol and operates two foundations that focus on his favorite policy issue – education. Read about those here and here.
