Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor for the National Review, says that he would like to see former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush enter the Republican presidential race, partly because he thinks the former governor would make it almost impossible for President Obama to carry electoral-rich Florida in 2012.
“Unlike all the other fantasy candidates out there,” wrote Ponnuru on a New York Times blog, “Bush could actually make a serious run even at this late date. And yes, it is late for the purposes of starting to organize, raise money, and get national recognition.”
Well, what does Jeb Bush himself think of the idea?
Coincidentally, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart bumped into Bush and his Mexican-born wife, Columba, on an Amtrak train only hours before former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich threw his hat in the ring yesterday. Capehart couldn’t resist asking Bush what he thought of the idea.
“A lot of people are asking me that, and it’s flattering,” replied Bush. “But the Magic Eight Ball says, ‘Outlook not so good.’ ”
While Bush, 58, has no immediate plans to run for the office previously occupied by his father and brother, he’s keeping pretty busy traveling the country pushing what he calls the “Florida formula” for education, a bold reform measure embraced by lawmakers in nearly a dozen states, while also campaigning for Republican candidates.
He’s also keeping a close hand in Florida politics, having recently endorsed Duval County tax collector Mike Hogan in Jacksonville’s low-key mayoral race next Tuesday and providing a similar endorsement to Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina in a special election to become the next mayor of Miami-Dade County, where the former governor resides.
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