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Former President George W. Bush says he isn’t interested in playing on the national political stage any longer. But for family, he’s making an exception. Asked in an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer whether he thinks his brother former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush should run for president in 2016, the ex-president was unequivocal. “He’d be a marvelous candidate if he chooses to do so. He doesn’t need my counsel ’cause he knows what it is, which is ‘run,’ ” the elder Bush brother said about Jeb’s possible candidacy, in an interview that first aired Wednesday on “World News with...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has written the cover story for the April edition of Newsmax magazine, offering an optimistic view of America’s future — and straight talk about its problems — with the resounding message: “Growth is the answer” to our nagging economic woes. And the leading Republican sat down with Newsmax for a wide-ranging interview elaborating on a number of topics he discusses in his magazine feature, arguing that America can be great again if we open up the doors to economic opportunity. Bush, who served two terms as Florida’s governor, has earned a nationwide reputation for reform...

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush told Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday that there is no Bush fatigue in America. Chris Wallace: Do you think there would be any Bush baggage? Do you think that would be a problem? Jeb Bush: No. I don’t think there is any Bush baggage at all. I love my brother. I’m proud of his accomplishments. I love my dad. I am proud to be a Bush. And, if I run for president, it’s not because there is something in my DNA that compels me to do it...

Jeb Bush Going For 'Full Ginsburg' To Promote Immigration Policy On TV Named for the Lewinsky lawyer who first pulled off the feat, former governor to appear on all five major Sunday talk shows 9 March 2013 In insider Washington slang it is a publicity coup that has been dubbed the "full Ginsburg" – when a single interviewee snags a slot on all five of American television's major Sunday morning talk shows on the same day. It was named after Monica Lewinsky lawyer William Ginsburg – who was the first to pull it off in 1998 – but now former...

. . . . . . “I thought about that issue a lot and [went] back and forth on it before I signed on to my principles and I just concluded that it’s not good for the country in the long term to have millions and millions of people who are forever prohibited from becoming citizens,” Rubio told reporters on his way to a Senate vote. “That hasn’t worked out well for Europe.” Responding to a question from TPM, Rubio said he did not think Bush’s surprise move would make it harder to convince conservatives to accept an eventual path...

“The chatter is he's up to something,” says one Florida operative. If Jeb Bush decides to convert his media tour into a presidential bid in a couple years, he won't have to look far for a campaign staff: The well-funded education foundation he runs out his office in a Miami hotel is stacked with former political operatives, a large communications team, and a rapidly growing staff whose work stretches into 40 states. It is common practice for undeclared presidential candidates to build a campaign infrastructure under the guise of a political action committee, but Bush appears to be laying the...

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who has remained on the sidelines since his older brother left the White House with dismal ratings four years ago, has jumped back into the political fray this week with a new book, wall-to-wall television interviews and a round of public speaking engagements. His appearances mark a change in approach for Bush, 60, who has operated as more of a Republican elder statesman since leaving Tallahassee in 2007 but is now clearly considering a run for the White House.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Tuesday described the growing economic chasm between rich and poor as "un-American" and called it the biggest "structural" problem facing the nation on Tuesday. "Going forward, we have to deal with our longer structural problems. The biggest one, as far as I'm concerned, is that we're no longer socially mobile as a country," Bush said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "You have people that are born poor and there's a higher and higher probability that they're going to stay poor. And you have people that are born rich and there's a greater probability that they'll...

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said he would strive to be like Lyndon Johnson, the Democrat famous for expanding the U.S. welfare state through the "Great Society," if he were elected president. According to the Miami Herald, Bush made those comments Wednesday night in San Antonio, Florida at Saint Leo University, while speaking about education, immigration, and energy policy. Bush did not address Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty programs, about which Ronald Reagan once famously quipped, "We had a war on poverty, and poverty won." Instead, he was referencing Johnson's mastery of the so-called sausage-making process in Congress....

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will speak for the first time at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, a clear sign that he is mulling a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The American Conservative Union, which sponsors the conference, announced Tuesday that Bush will address the group, set for March 14-16 in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington. Bush has been invited by the group to speak at CPAC several times, but this will be his first appearance. “We are pleased to announce that my friend Gov. Jeb Bush will be a featured speaker at CPAC 2013,”...

Rubio staked his marker in the education-reform debate last week when he delivered a speech at the Chamber of Commerce calling for policy changes to improve the skills of the American workforce. Education is not a high-profile topic in Washington, but some Republicans see it, along with immigration reform, as crucial to winning a key part of the electorate: women voters. “We need a champion in both areas. We lost the last election at the PTA meeting and the Hispanic chamber of commerce. Jeb Bush wins elections at the PTA meeting and Hispanic chamber,” said Don Gaetz, president of the...

(CNN) – Jeb Bush, Jr., the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said Tuesday morning he "certainly" wants his dad to run for president. Asked on CNN's "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien" if he wants to see his father make a White House bid, Bush said, "I don't know. No comment. I certainly hope so." "Giving you the full loaf of bread right there," he continued, smiling. – Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker Jeb Bush, the former governor, flirted with a presidential bid last year, but declined to run. With high popularity in the Hispanic community–his wife is...

<p>After a year in which Republicans had precious little for which to be thankful, perhaps it's not surprising that party leaders and the faithful spent a good chunk of the long Thanksgiving weekend obsessing instead over 2016 – specifically the possibility of a presidential run by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.</p>

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Now that the Obama and Romney campaigns have closed their headquarters in Chicago and Boston, the attention of the political world is shifting to an office suite tucked behind the colonnades of the Biltmore Hotel complex here. The suite is where former Gov. Jeb Bush manages his consulting business, his education foundation and, now, the (very) early decision-making process for a possible presidential run in 2016.

(Reuters) - Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush said on Thursday that she's ready to move beyond this year's campaign season, in comments that came at an Austin conference the week after President Barack Obama's re-election. "I'm tired now of the elections," Bush, who had endorsed Republican Mitt Romney, said at a forum on America's first ladies. "People spoke. Move on, get on with it. I want to do other things and not to be ugly."

"My personal view is that we need to get beyond where we are," said the former Florida governor, adding a moment later, "You can't ask people to join your cause and then send a signal that you're really not wanted. It just doesn't work." Bush has previously stated his concerns about the party's hard-line immigration stance and seemed careful on Sunday's "Meet The Press" to balance his views with a hearty endorsement of nominee-to-be Mitt Romney.

Dick Cheney has some advice for Mitt Romney on choosing a running mate: Don't pick another Sarah Palin. In his first interview since receiving a heart transplant in March, Cheney told ABC News, that John McCain's decision to pick Palin as his running mate in 2008 was "a mistake" - one that it is important from Romney not to repeat. It's subject on which Cheney has some unique experience. He helped Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush lead their vice presidential searches and, of course, served as vice president for eight years. He's also privately offered some advice to...

**Exclusive** Late Thursday evening, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a new fundraising drive, 'Meet The VP' -- just as Romney himself has narrowed the field of candidates to a handful, sources reveal. And a surprise name is now near the top of the list: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice! The timing of the announcement is now set for 'coming weeks'. MORE It was Condi who received two standing ovations at Romney's Utah retreat a few weeks ago, and everyone left with her name on their lips. Rice made an extended argument for American leadership in the world.

In an interview, 36-year-old George P. Bush is as plain-spoken as his grandmother Barbara, who in his telling wears the pants in the Bush family. And while he says his father Jeb, the former governor of Florida, is sincere when he says he isn’t campaigning to join the Romney ticket, George P. also strongly suggests that his dad would say yes if asked: “If called upon to serve, he will,” he says flatly

ormer Florida Governor Jeb Bush endorsed Mitt Romney after Romney’s lopsided win in Illinois Tuesday night. The former Florida Governor – a Republican heavyweight – called on members of the party to coalesce behind Romney. “Congratulations to Governor Mitt Romney on his win last night and to all the candidates for a hard fought, thoughtful debate and primary season,” said Bush in a statement. “Primary elections have been held in thirty-four states, and now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall. I...

A shocking report prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Prime Minister Putin on the just completed meeting between China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger states that the Chinese were told that former Florida Governor John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, brother to the former US President and son of another, will be elected as the next American leader despite his currently not even being on the ballot.

JANUARY 24 Draft Jeb Bush A charismatic and accomplished governor can save the Republican party. Artur Davis In the early months of the election year, a polarizing president with a lackluster approval rating bided his time as the opposition party unraveled. Its nominating fight dissolved into chaos as the establishment front-runner collapsed, and an insurgent with a talent for galvanizing his party’s base surged, despite persistent fears about his electoral appeal beyond the party’s hardcore. A protracted primary fight ensued, with the insurgent and the party’s resistant establishment eviscerating each other for months; by the time it ran its course,...

Surprising. The odds of this happening, given the Bush family’s antipathy to Gingrich and Perry, couldn’t have been much higher than 98 or 99 percent. Second look at political dynasties backing establishment candidates? Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush plans to endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney before the Jan. 31 Florida primary, a Florida GOP source close to Bush told BuzzFeed Thursday. The endorsement from Bush, who despite prodding from members of his famous family and prominent Republicans decided to sit out the 2012 contest, is the latest sign that the Republican establishment is coalescing around Romney after months publicly...

I was recently back in Texas to oversee some business. I shared some time with George P. Bush very recently. Nice kid. Pushing a real estate investment fund for distressed properties in Houston-Austin-Dallas Texas. Long story short, the machine (to the extent it still exists) is clearly supporting Romney. I doubt this surprises anyone, but I figured you'd want to know.

Jeb Bush, who has made clear he isn't running for president this cycle, raised some eyebrows on Sean Hannity's Fox News show Friday night with this comment about a potential campaign: "I don’t anticipate that. You never say never. This is a standard answer that I’ve kind of learned how to give which is — you never say never, but I never rule out being on Dancing with the Stars either … there are a lot of ways you can make a difference." He went on, with respect to whether any of the current field can win, "If you recall,...

onald Trump appeared on the O'Reilly Factor last night and proceeded to reiterate, yet again, how he doesn't think that Obama was born in the United States and that he is not showing his birth certificate because it might show that he is a Muslim and on and on. It was all of the same stuff he has been saying over and over and over and over and over for the past two weeks. Thankfully, Trump's point of view was not shared by the rest of O'Reilly's guests or even by O'Reilly himself. During their interview, O'Reilly expressed disbelief that...

Dana Pierino, a Bushie and Establishment person for sure, once again was promoting Jeb Bush as being a good candidate to run for President tonight on Bill O'Reilly (TED BAXTER), that she heard his brother GW Bush thinks he should run and so does Bush 41 and she made the case that actually Jeb doesn't have "Bush Baggage" and being a Bush right now might not be a such a bad thing. Bill and Dana were lamenting that there were no one out there who were "serious" to run. I knew what they were trying to get at. Bill said...

When Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana decided to announce recently that he isn't going to run for the Republican nomination for president -- and instead is likely to run for governor of his state -- you would have thought, from the reaction in some quarters, that he had committed the ultimate act of betrayal. At least one senior longtime Republican political aide thought that Pence had somehow let down his principles and his country by not taking a chance on the presidential race. Folks on the Pence for president bandwagon were in a deep funk. "Seriously, who else do we...

National Review plants Jeb Bush on its forthcoming cover, looking at his productivity since leaving Florida's governor's mansion and, implicitly, fantasizing about another President Bush:...Pundits continue to wonder whether this son and brother of presidents ever will seek the White House for himself. While they speculate, Jeb is quietly building a legacy as something other than the Bush who didn't reach the Oval Office. Governors everywhere boast of a desire to become "the education governor." As Florida's chief executive, Bush really was one - and not merely one among many, but by far the best. In 1999, when he took...

Laura Ingraham is playing excerpts this morning from a speech GWB made at Southern Methodist University yesterday. She is playing the audio, but I have been unable to find anything on the internet so far.

A Republican group that includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday will kick off its efforts to improve the party's outreach to Hispanic voters, many of whom have been critical of some GOP candidates' harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration. The new Hispanic Action Network is part of a growing number of Republican organizations reaching out to Hispanics in advance of next year's presidential election — and it has powerful support. The group is backed by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, whose American Action Network funneled more than $30 million in campaign funds to Republicans in about 30 congressional races...

Jeb Bush in ’12: Third time may be charmCommentary: Never say never again By Darrell Delamaide WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Stranger things have happened. The notion that yet another Bush could run for the presidency only four short years after George W. Bush took his cowboy’s ride — and abysmal approval ratings — into the sunset may seem to be a stretch. But have you noticed? Jeb Bush, W.’s younger brother and a former two-term governor of Florida, is back. He’s giving interviews, making speeches, spearheading a Republican effort to woo Latino voters and clearly keeping his options open. “Never say...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) denounced the Bush family as "blue bloods" in an interview posted Wednesday and remarked that a mentality like theirs helped to cause the economic downturn. Her comment came in response to a statement made by former first lady Barbara Bush during an interview with CNN's Larry King earlier this week. Asked for her take on Palin, Bush told King: "I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there." Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham followed up with Palin, asking if she thought Bush's comment had been planned ahead of time. Palin...

Sarah Palin may not have the biggest fan in former first lady Barbara Bush. "I sat next to her once. Thought she was beautiful," Barbara Bush said. "And she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there." Bush, along with her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, spoke to CNN's Larry King in an interview set to air Monday. (Video clip [of interview at source link.)

Supporters of Jeb Bush say Bush fatigue will not be a significant problem if the former Florida governor decides to make a presidential run. Many Republicans think Bush would be a frontrunner for the Oval Office if not for his brother’s lingering unpopularity. Jeb Bush said in July that he is not running in 2012, but supporters are looking down the road to 2016.

The New York Times this week published a story based on an interview with the former Florida governor. The main point of the story was that his brother, George W., subscribes to the code that former presidents don’t criticize their successors, so Jeb is the one rebutting the Obama administration’s blame for the economy, the deficit, the oil spill and other national calamities. But the story also speculates on the prospects for Jeb running for president, as soon as 2012, as “someone who can reposition the party nationally and make its more strident ideology palatable to the wider American electorate.”...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is speaking out against the new hard-line immigration law in Arizona, becoming the first prominent national Republican to do so. "I think it creates unintended consequences," he said in a telephone interview with POLITICO Tuesday. "It's difficult for me to imagine how you're going to enforce this law. It places a significant burden on local law enforcement and you have civil liberties issues that are significant as well." The measure, signed into law last Friday, would require police to check the immigration status of any individuals they reasonably suspect are illegal immigrants and arrest them...

INDIANAPOLIS | Did Hoosiers get a first look last week at The Ticket? Mitch Daniels. Jeb Bush. 2012? Both Republicans frequently deny seeking higher office, but each man also told The Times the other would be a strong candidate for a presidential run. "If he wants it, sure," Bush said of Daniels' national prospects. "I honestly believe he is the best governor in the country in terms of the courage of his convictions, intelligence, strategic thinking," Bush said. At the same time, Daniels said he's disappointed Bush says he's ruled out a future in government. "I understand his answer, but...

WSVN just had a special report saying Mel Martinez was resigning...Crist could appoint himself to Senate.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election. "You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said. The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election. "You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said. The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will not run for the open Senate seat of Sen. Mel Martinez, he announced in a statement released moments ago. "After thoughtful consideration, I have decided not to run for the United States Senate in 2010," said Bush. "While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to return to elected office." Bush's decision robs Republicans of a top-tier recruit who would have immediately been favored to hold Martinez's seat. Without Bush in the race, Republicans are almost certain to play...

WASHINGTON -- Former President George H.W. Bush said on Sunday he'd like to see his second son, Jeb, become President of the United States some day. Interviewed on Fox News Sunday, Bush said his second son, a former Governor of Florida, had all the qualifications to serve in the White House. Jeb Bush, 55, has said he was considering running for a U.S. Senate seat representing Florida in 2010. The current incumbent, Republican Mel Martinez, has announced he is stepping down. "I'd like to see him run. I'd like to see him be president one day, or senator, whatever, yes...

A council has been accused of discriminating against homosexuals over plans to clear undergrowth from a notorious gay cruising spot. Bristol City Council wants to prune bushes and remove cover from an area known as the Downs to improve the landscape and encourage rare wildlife. But its own gay rights group has opposed the move, claiming that cutting back the bushes was "discriminating" to homosexual men who used the area for late night outdoor sex known as dogging. Work on the beauty spot has been temporarily delayed while talks with gay rights groups take place to try and break the...

>>Mitt Romney Considering Jeb Bush As Possible Running Mate (Bluffton, SC) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has dropped the name of Jeb Bush as being among a list of possible running mates for his campaign. Florida's former governor has largely been out of the public spotlight since Charlie Crist was sworn into office. He hasn't publically commented on Romney's announcement.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he is "not ruling in or out" running for president or vice president in 2008. "I don't know what the future holds for me," Bush told NewsMax as he leaves office this month after eight years as governor. "To be honest with you, the only job in public life that I've been interested in over the last 15 years has been to be governor. It's been my dream come true. I guess it's hard for people to appreciate, but I've never viewed it as a stepping stone to anything else." Bush said he would feel...

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has hired several of Jeb Bush’s top aides, leading to speculation that Romney may be courting the outgoing Florida governor for a possible Romney-Bush 2008 ticket for the White House. After Bush’s former chief of staff and top political adviser, Sally Bradshaw, joined Romney’s Commonwealth political action committee earlier this month, Romney flew to Florida to join Bush for campaign events and fund-raisers - and to gauge Bush’s interest in being a running mate, sources told the Boston Herald. Soon after, Bush’s chief finance director, Ann Woods Herberger, also joined Romney’s political action committee. Bush has...

I have NEVER been a fan of Jesse Jackson. But when he can get the biased liberal anti-Terri media - to report the words, Terri's starvation is "immoral" and an "injustice," -- as he did today -- then I have to thank him. I just called his office in the Chicago area; told them I have not been a supporter of his, but I thank him for standing up for Terri. RainbowPush: ph: 773-373-3366 info@rainbowpush.org

Tim Russert just said on the panel discussion to Robert Novak, Bill Safire and David Broder that Jesse Jackson had given him a statement calling Lott a 'Confederate' for his remarks supporting Strom Thurmond and requesting his resignation from the Senate as Incoming Majority Leader.No details were given about possible protests by Jacksons Rainbow coalition on the controversy