Free Republic

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...

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - A tip for visitors to Florida this summer: Don't start talking about "dynasty" unless you want to make Jeb Bush cranky. "A day doesn't go by where someone doesn't have a great idea for what my life looks like in 2007 and beyond," the term-limited governor told reporters last week. "I'm not entertaining any discussion about it." Click to learn more... But he may be the only person in the Sunshine State not discussing it. Even though he'll remain in the governor's mansion here for another seven months, speculation already is running high about what he'll do...

State GOP Pick Gingrich In Presidential Straw Poll (AP) Minneapolis Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who engineered the Republican takeover of Congress a dozen years ago, got a boost Friday from Minnesota conservatives who want him to run for president in 2008. Gingrich was the top vote-getter in a straw poll of GOP activists at the state party convention. But the vote is at best a limited reflection of Republican sentiment in the state -- the ranks of the 1,275 delegates had thinned down considerably by the time the poll was taken, and 540 valid votes were cast. That was...

His brother's approval ratings are in the cellar, and that whole dynasty thing doesn't help. But don't underestimate Jeb Bush's prospects as a future presidential contender, says former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Probably '08 is a little bit tricky, but " '12 or '16 isn't. And he's a young enough guy (53) that he has a great future," Gingrich said on the Political Connections television show airing today on Bay News 9. "I just think his natural, personal ability is so great that people are going to realize he is not his father and he's not his brother. He's...

WASHINGTON Bush III? Or has the dynasty run its course? Those are the questions some Republicans are asking themselves as political talk bubbles up yet again about President George W. Bush's brother, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, and his interest in the White House. The chief driver of the mini-buzz is the current occupant of the White House, who has said twice this month that his younger brother would make "a great president." No one is suggesting, the president included, that the younger Bush will run in 2008, and Governor Bush, whose second term is up at the end of...

Bush Backs Brother Jeb for White House By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago President Bush suggested Wednesday that he'd like to see his family's White House legacy continue, perhaps with his younger brother Jeb as the chief executive. The president said Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is well-suited for another office and would make "a great president." "I would like to see Jeb run at some point in time, but I have no idea if that's his intention or not," Bush said in an interview with Florida reporters, according to an account on the St. Petersburg Times Web...

Brother Jeb would make 'great' US president: Bush May 10 12:05 PM US/Eastern President George W. Bush praised his brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, as an "excellent" leader who would make a "great president" of the United States, according to news accounts. "I think Jeb would be a great president. But it's up to Jeb to make a decision to run," Bush told reporters at a roundtable interview here with several Florida newspapers. "I would like to see Jeb run at some point in time, but I have no idea if that's his intention or not," said the president, in...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Could there be a third President Bush? The current chief said Wednesday that younger brother Jeb would make a great one, too, and has asked him about making a run. The first President Bush likes the idea as well. Jeb Bush the Republican governor of Florida, has one asset that his presidential brother doesn't right now — approval from most of his constituents. While George W. Bush's approval ratings are in the low 30s, some 55 percent of Florida voters surveyed last month by Quinnipiac University said Jeb was doing a good job. The governor has repeatedly...

A political piece in The New York Post caught my eye. It said that conservatives were warming up to Senator John S. McCain III, R-Ariz. If McCain, as expected, makes another run for the presidency, he would be the oldest man, if successful, to have been elected president. It seems that some conservatives are enamored with a new poll suggesting that McCain would defeat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., by a margin of 52 percent to 37 percent. Others point to McCain's consistent efforts to cut government spending. Still others point to McCain's support for the Right to Life. These...

February 3, 2006 -- REPUBLICAN conservatives are really warming up to Sen. John McCain as they look ahead to 2008 — and one reason is they are starting to see him as the best person to beat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Conservatives loved the poll that showed McCain would trounce Clinton by 52 to 36 percent in a White House. It came along just as they were reminding themselves that McCain really is a true-blue conservative. ...... And yet, it's fascinating how McCain appeals to Democrats, even pro-choice women, despite his solid right-to-life voting record and the fact that he'd...

Florida Favorite Governor, Jeb Bush GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Buoyed by low unemployment and a rising stock market, the confidence of Florida consumers reached a six-month high in January, but economists warned of an imminent decline as the housing market cools. The consumer confidence for Floridians jumped to 95 in January from 91 in December, according to a survey by the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.... "Ninety-five is historically a relatively high number," said survey director Chris McCarty. Unemployment was at 3.3 percent in December....

Political pundits have long discounted former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential prospects, claiming that his particular brand of tough-talking, socially moderate conservatism would never play south of the Mason-Dixon Line. But Rudy has never been one to listen to conventional wisdom, and lately at least, he has been turning up the heat in southern conservative political circles. In just the last week, he endorsed Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry for re-election and met with Evangelicals in Florida. Most impressively, he actually outpaced U.S. Senator John McCain in a just-released Georgia poll, garnering the support of 28 percent of...

Right Wing News emailed more than 230 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a ranked list 1-5 of the candidates that they would most like to take the Republican nomination for President in 2008 and the 1-5 candidates they'd least like to see as the Republican nominee in 2008. Representatives from the following 58 blogs responded... Aaron's CC, Absinthe & Cookies, The American Mind, The Anchoress, AtlanticBlog, Atlas Shrugs, Backcountry Conservative, La Shawn Barber, The Baseball Crank, Betsy's Page, BlameBush!, Boi From Troy, Byrd Droppings, Commonwealth Conservative, DANEgerus Weblog, Dodgeblogium, Dr. Sanity, Eckernet, Euphoric Reality, Gateway Pundit, GayPatriot,...

Now that the holiday that dare not speak its name is in our collective rear-view mirror, it's that time of year when the political punditry turns their weary eyes to the future. And those who dominate the media are out of the gate early, chirping optimistically about liberal prospects in 2006 and beyond. Their talking points are already out and the main message is this: Conservatives are stupid. Not only stupid, but dense, knuckle-dragging, thick-legged sheep who will submissively go wherever liberals want to lead them. So inept are they, that they are incapable of choosing their own presidential candidates....

Gov. Jeb Bush said he supports reviewing voting machines after a test by an elections supervisor showed that hackers could electronically stuff some ballot boxes. TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday that the state ought to consider relooking at the way it examines electronic voting machines, following a county election chief's tests that showed insiders could hack into the computers, change votes and not leave an electronic fingerprint behind. Bush, saying the subject is ''too important'' to ignore, echoed national computer-security and voting experts, and struck a dissimilar chord to acting Secretary of State David Mann, who expressed less...

TALLAHASSEE -- The headline speakers at last week's Florida Democratic Convention formed an all-star team of the party's power hitters: national Chairman Howard Dean, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and a host of various 2008 presidential contenders. But Emilio Perez and other members of the state's party's Hispanic caucus noticed something was absent: a prominent Hispanic speaker. Of the many speakers who addressed nearly 2,000 attendees over two days, there was only one scheduled Hispanic speaker: Manatee County party Chairman C.J. Czaia. Two other Hispanics spoke as they introduced white candidates. "I was kind of upset at the whole situation, not...

I can't post the actual pdf, but i'll try to summarize some of the stuff. If the moderators know whether or not i can do this please let me know(i know you have to pay to get into national journal(or if your cheap like me just go to a school library to access it for free) Republicans 2008 Insiders Rank Rank Name Points Previous Points(April 30) First Place Votes Second Place Votes 1 George Allen 365 269 39 22 2 John Mccain 337 255 38 22 3(Rising in rank)(previous rank 4) Mitt Romney 168 128 4 6 4 Rudy Guiliani...

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...

He denies he's even interested, and a long list of political analysts have already written him off with the belief that the appearance of political nepotism would be too unseemly for voters to put the brother of the current president in the Oval Office. But in politics timing is everything, and as the clock advances towards 2008, things are starting to fall into place to give Jeb Bush the momentum he needs to win the White House. And this isn't contingent on Hillary Clinton emerging as the Democrats' nominee--though if she does, the path will be all the smoother for...

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has for months sternly rejected running to replace his brother in the White House, but only now we are finding out why.Friends say it is his wife Columba, who closed the door, 'His wife just said no,' a close Bush Florida pal tells us.

Is a McCain-Jeb Bush 2008 ticket in the offing? Some Washington insiders think so. If McCain is to get the Republican nomination for the 2008 election, he’ll need the support of President George Bush. Recently, NewsMax reported that President Bush’s top media adviser had signed on with McCain for his expected 2008 run. Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne writes that before McKinnon announced his support of McCain, got wind of the McCain-Jeb possibility. Dionne says "a shrewd and loyally Democratic political operative with personal ties to the McCain” told him that choosing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as his running mate...

Mark McKinnon, the Austin political consultant who oversaw the advertising for President Bush in the 2000 and 2004 campaigns, has committed to help Sen. John McCain in a second presidential bid. McKinnon - one of the president's closest friends and confidants and a frequent mountain biking companion - met with the Arizona Republican over lunch this spring in the Senate dining room to discuss his support, a GOP activist familiar with the meeting told G. Robert Hillman of the Dallas Morning News. At this point, McCain, who lost to Bush in a bitter 2000 Republican primary, is in the early...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday brushed off his father's public suggestions that he should run for president. Gov. Bush, who has repeatedly and sometimes testily said he won't run for the White House in 2008, was asked Wednesday morning about the remarks made by his father, former President George H.W. Bush, on Tuesday's edition of CNN's Larry King Live. "Oh, Lord," Gov. Bush said as he laughed. Shaking his head, he said: "I love my dad." Asked if he is running, the younger Bush simply shook his head no. Former President Bush had said the night...

George Bush, the president's father, would like to see another Bush in the White House someday, saying on Tuesday that he would want his son Jeb to run for president when the timing is right. Florida Governor Jeb Bush has repeatedly said he does not plan to run for president in 2008, trying to dampen speculation that another Bush could be on the next Republican ticket for the White House. In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," former President Bush said he would want Jeb to run for president "someday," but now was not the time. "The timing's wrong....

As defections go, at least within Florida Republican circles, this was Martin Luther, hammer in hand; this was Brutus greeting Caesar; this was Rudolph Hess parachuting into Scotland. For not only did former Florida Republican Party Chairman Tom Slade note the emperor has no clothes, but that he has a big, fat, huge keister, too. Recently, in a wide-ranging interview with University of South Florida political science Professor Darryl Paulson, Slade dished more dirt than ``Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'' meets ``The First Wives Club'' when the subject arose about the Bush family and other hotsy-totsy Republicans. Regarding Jeb...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US President George H.W. Bush said in an interview he was convinced his younger son, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, will not run for president in 2008 to replace elder brother President George W. Bush (news - web sites). AFP/File Photo Slideshow: State of the Union Address Speculation about Jeb Bush's 2008 ambitions were fueled by his high-profile trip to South Asia in the wake of the December tsunami at the head of a US government delegation, whose task was to assess damage and draft US relief plans. Some saw the trip as a White House attempt...

The first name that popped out of U.S. Sen. John McCain's mouth Sunday as the Republican choice for president in 2008 was Jeb Bush, but the governor's spokesman repeated his position that he has no plans to run. "If you're looking at dynasties, and by the way I'm a great admirer of Governor Bush, he's done a great job in Florida," the Arizona senator said on "Fox News Sunday." But he added, "This might be a wide-open situation." In response to McCain's remarks, Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said: "The governor is focused on his job right now. He's got an...

Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Florida Governor Jeb Bush may have found a method of helping Terri Schiavo, the disabled woman at the center of a national euthanasia controversy. The Florida Department of Children & Families investigated a way to intervene in the case on Wednesday, just hours after Bush told reporters in a press conference that he would do everything legally possible to help Terri's parents prevent her estranged husband from starving her to death. Details of just how DCF would get involved were not yet available, according to an Associated Press report. Also on Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge George...

Original Caption Florida Gov. Jeb Bush responds to questions Monday, Feb. 14, 2005, in Tallahassee, Fla.

CPAC has asked pollsters Tony Fabrizio and John McLaughlin to conduct a straw poll of the estimated 4,000 delegates; the questions include: —Thinking ahead to the 2008 Presidential election, who do you think will be the next Republican nominee for President? 1. George Allen. 2. Haley Barbour. 3. Bill Frist. 4 Newt Gingrich. 5. Rudy Giuliani. 6. Chuck Hagel. 7. Mike Huckabee. 8. John McCain. 9. Bill Owens. 10. George Pataki. 11. Tim Pawlenty. 12. Condi Rice. 13. Mitt Romney. 14. Mark Sanford. 15. Rick Santorum. 16. Other

Last week I linked to a piece by Matt Towery noting the possibility of Newt Gingrich running for president in 2008. This week he's back with another possible contender; Jeb Bush, governor of my adopted home state of Florida. Jeb's biggest advantage, and biggest disadvantage as well, is his family. As the brother of George W. (and son of George H.W.), he certainly has the name recognition and the contacts! In fact, before the election of Dubya, Jeb would have seemed the obvious choice between the brothers to run for president. He's far more articulate and his manner is more......

With seven months to go until the presidential election, some are already discussing a Bush victory in 2008. Of the many Bush books hitting the shelves is Peter and Rochelle Schweizer's "The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty." The new book claims Florida Governor Jeb will likely make a run for older brother W.'s job. Even if he didn't win he would also make history, as the first candidate to seek the office of the presidency after it was held by both his father and a brother. He's already made history as the first Republican governor to be re-elected to a...