BERLIN (Reuters) - Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of U.S. President George W. Bush, ruled out running for president in 2008 but left open the possibility of a subsequent bid in an interview with a German magazine published on Sunday.
Jeb Bush, who is scheduled to visit Germany this week, told Focus weekly he had not thought much about running for the office held by his father and older brother except to rule out the next election at the end of George W. Bush's second term.
"You should never say never. But for the 2008 election, my answer is definitely no," he said, in comments translated into German by the magazine.
Asked whether his answer meant a later challenge was possible, he said: "Let's say there's a vague chance."
Bush, 52, said he spoke frequently with his brother and visited the White House whenever he was in Washington but he said the two mainly discussed family matters or sport.
Let's face it--Jeb Bush is a smart politician. He knows there is no way he can possibly run for the White House in 2008, considering how politically toxic brother George is right now as he sits in the Oval Office. The country is in a sour mood, with poll numbers for Bush dropping rapidly, serious problems and scandals being exposed which involves the White House, and much of the public now believing the country is on the wrong track. Jeb Bush can't distance himself from his brother. Interestingly enough, had George Bush not gone into Iraq--or had the war and occupation been a success to where we were massively pulling our troops out now--Bush's popularity may have gone up above 50 percent. And if George Bush's popularity was above 50-60 percent, you can bet Jeb Bush would be organizing for his own run for the White House.
But Iraq has not been a success, and George's popularity is hovering in the upper 30s. With Jeb Bush personally connected as family to George, the country will not accept the transfer of the White House from an older brother's two disastrous terms to a younger brother. So Jeb will sit out in 2008, and let someone else in either the Democratic or Republican Party take over. And if Iraq continues to go south until 2012, you can bet Jeb Bush will make a run for the 2012 elections, blaming the unnamed current president for the disastrous war in Iraq, and possibly proclaiming his own plan for winning the war. That's if Iraq continues to be a major issue. Either way, Jeb Bush will try to run and hope that the country will forget his brother George's two terms.
Can you say Jeb Bush verses Hillary Clinton?
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