Elder Bush Would Like Son Jeb to Run for President
President George Bush the Elder told Larry King that he would like to see son Jeb run for president some day, too.
Elder Bush would like son Jeb to run for president (Reuters)
George Bush, the president’s father, would like to see another Bush in the White House someday, saying on Tuesday that he would want his son Jeb to run for president when the timing is right. Florida Governor Jeb Bush has repeatedly said he does not plan to run for president in 2008, trying to dampen speculation that another Bush could be on the next Republican ticket for the White House.
In an interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” former President Bush said he would want Jeb to run for president “someday,” but now was not the time. “The timing’s wrong. The main thing is, he doesn’t want to do it. Nobody believes that,” Bush said. But he and wife Barbara both said they believed Jeb, 52, did not want to run in the next presidential race.
Bush said he did not have a favorite candidate for the Republican nomination to succeed his son, President Bush. Barbara Bush said she believed Senator and former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential race. “I’m not going to vote for her, but I’m betting on her,” she said.
One seldom goes wrong trusting Barbara Bush (the Elder)’s political instincts. Papa Bush is right, too. Jeb is in some ways the most attractive of the political Bushes and he might indeed have a shot at the White House some day, notwithstanding the baggage that comes with the “dynasty” label and the polarization that his brother has generated. But it would be almost impossible to sell the country on a third Bush in four presidents.
Of course, if Laura Bush runs in 2008 and wins, Jeb would have to hold off until 2016. . . .
