Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has made a wise, but surprising decision to pass by the opportunity for the Senate seat of Mel Martinez, who has announced his retirement.
While it is acknowledged that he was a popular and often effective governor, the possibility of another Bush in high office and possibly running for the Presidency was a horrible thought to many.Â
It is likely that Jeb felt that the country was drowning in Bush exhaustion and has decided it is better at this time to pursue financial advantage which would be lost if he ran for and served in the US Senate. It is certainly a disappointment to his father, former President George H W Bush, who just expressed this past Sunday the hope that his younger son would seek to get back into politics.
I don’t think we can assume that Jeb will never seek the Presidency, as he is still young (55) and theoretically could run for that position as a former governor out of office seeking the opportunity. After all, many of the presidential candidates in primaries and even in the fall campaigns for President in the past 40 years have sought the job while out of office–including Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. So I doubt we have heard the last of Jeb Bush in public life.