Jeb Bush Laughs Off His Mom’s Comments About Running For President

Last month when she was being interviewed as part of the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library, Barbara Bush, the matriarch of  the Bush clan, said she didn’t believe her son Jeb should run for President because there have already been too many Bush’s in politics. Well, Jeb doesn’t seem to agree:

Jeb Bush was asked about his mother’s remark Wednesday during a question-and-answer session following a speech during the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference at the Lake Huron resort town of Mackinac Island.

“What can I tell you? All I can say is we all have mothers, right?” he said as hundreds of listeners laughed and applauded.

“She is totally liberated, and God bless her.”

As for his own plans, Bush says he’s not thinking about 2016 right now:

“My thinking is not to think about it for a year,” he said. “Life teaches you that you need to make decisions in the right time – not too early, not too late. … I’ll check in maybe a year from now, 15 months from now, something like that.”

Bush, 60, who served as Florida governor from 1999-2007, said his choice about seeking the presidency would be difficult considering the effect on his family and “whether or not I’ve got the right stuff to be able to run and be successful at it. So I’m going to take my time doing that.”

Of course, that’s exactly what someone who’s planning on running for President would say.

FILED UNDER: 2016 Election, The Presidency, US Politics, , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Minor revision:

    Bush, 60, who served as Florida governor from 1999-2007, said his choice about seeking the presidency would be difficult considering the effect on his family country

    Jeb, you’re my favorite Bush and always have been. But don’t run for president.

  2. Latino_in_Boston says:

    What else is he going to say?

    I just didn’t know that Barbara Bush and I agreed on anything politically, but it looks she’s right there along with the rest of the country.

  3. Caj says:

    Jeb better listen to his Momma! Barbara Bush is quite right, two Bush’s are enough. In fact one was quite sufficient! The second Bush was a big mistake and the country is still paying dearly for it. By that I mean the Iraq war. Cost money and unnecessary lives lost on both sides. So Jeb, do us all a favor and go keep George company somewhere, anywhere just as long as it’s nowhere near the White House.

  4. gVOR08 says:

    I confess I’m conflicted. I can’t decide if I’d rather Hillary be able to run against Jeb (What are the odds of three in a row?) Bush or Richard Cardinal Santorum. I used to wish for the Republican that looked like he’d be least awful if accidentally elected, but Romney kind of cured me of that.

  5. Tillman says:

    Jeb should consider a career in fundraising and philanthropy. I hear it’s quite lucrative, and plenty of prestige goes along with it.

  6. As Governor of Florida, didn’t you wear a Confederate Flag lapel pin?
    Patriotic?

  7. bill says:

    he’s probably talking about king george the 3rd, an hispanic hybrid! that scares most of you more than the typical white guy republican. he’s years down the road though- i doubt jeb wants the job, but then again who knows what will happen in the next few years?

  8. Stonetools says:

    Mother knows best, Jeb…

  9. OzarkHillbilly says:

    “What can I tell you? All I can say is we all have mothers, right?”

    And with that he lost the votes of millions of American mothers. I can see the ads now….