Politico talks about Jeb Bush and the Veep job
04/27/2012
Politico's Jonathan Martin has an interesting piece about all the folks in the Republican Party who dream of Jeb Bush joining the Mitt Romney ticket.
There is much gnashing of teeth. Much, oh golly the world would be a better place if Jeb would only run. Martin does a good job of capturing the passion and clearly notes that Bush lacks similar passion for the number two job.
Martin writes:
Interviews with about a dozen Bush associates say that’s not the usual veepstakes non-denial denial — he truly doesn’t want to be on the ticket. The common euphemism among the Jeb crowd is that it’s just not his time, that the same factors that kept him out of the presidential primary make him unwilling to be the vice presidential nominee. There’s been speculation that this is shorthand for 2012 being too close to his older brother’s presidency, but those close to the younger Bush say it’s his own wife and children he has in mind when he expresses reluctance about returning to politics.
Bingo. This is not about national politics. This is about family. Columba was miserable as Florida's First Lady. She did not like living in Tallahassee. The Bush's daughter, Noelle, suffered from drug abuse while Bush was governor. On family front, it was a very difficult period.
When Crowley Political Report suggested, in this report, that if Bush wants to hang on to his political influence, he should run for U.S. Senate - several folks scoffed at the idea.
But the point remains. If Bush bypasses the national stage this time, his influence - which is negligible outside of the inner circle of GOP loyalists - will continue to diminish. He may become an elder statesman, but there shortage of those in the Republican Party.
This is a turning point year for Bush. And frankly, we suspect he doesn't care. Every indication is that he is content doing exactly what he is doing.
He may be one of the few former politicians who actually enjoys fading into the background.