Voter Political Blog

Contenders for the retiring Mel Martinez’s Senate Seat breathed a sigh of relief as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced that he would not be a 2010 Senate Candidate. Also breathing a sigh of relief are Florida Democrats who are undoubtedly planning a relatively easy pick up for their party in the next election cycle.

Although his brother made a mockery of the Republican Party in his second Presidential term, Jeb Bush is really a stand up Republican and a great servant for the people of Florida. I must admit that I’m disappointed that he won’t be running for office and I’m sure there is no shortage of Florida Republicans thinking the same thing.

In a message he sent to Facebook supporters, the Former Florida Governor said that he intended to stay as active as ever to support the principles he governed with and that he would help rebuild the Republican Party - which we all know is broken pretty severely.

This leaves one to wonder if Jeb’s people are booking airline tickets to Des Moines. You know, to look at the corn, drive around aimlessly, look at some more corn, maybe run for President. Obviously, Jeb is at an inherent disadvantage coming from the Bush family after his brother will leave office with under a 30% approval rating. That said, Jeb isn’t his brother and he may very well make an excellent Presidential candidate. I can think of a few better candidates personally, but aside from his name, Jeb is certainly acceptable and more than qualified.

I’ve had two friends who have worked in the White House tell me this exact thing, “Don’t throw out your Bush For President campaign signs.” Which means either Jeb is interested in a Presidential run, or that the signs are going to fetch a small fortune in 50 years on E-Bay. Judging by the context, I’m assessing Jeb is interested in the job.

But there is quite a bit of difference between “interest” and “campaign.” Unless Obama really screws up in his first term, I can’t imagine another Bush will be a viable candidate in 2012. And when I say screw up, I mean, “Opps, I didn’t mean to fire that nuke at Philadelphia.” Not only would that hurt Obama’s popularity, but with Pennsylvania missing one of it’s most liberal cities, Republicans would probably be able to win the state. That’s the kind of insane screw up I’m talking about.

Of course, Jeb could hire a boat load of image consultants, campaign as just “Jeb!” like he did for Governor, hope that the Republican field is incredibly weak, and maybe get lucky and have people vote on issues instead of name association.

Opinions by Kevin Tracy