Jeb Bush in 2012... or should he wait until 2016?

Some conservatives are urging the former Florida governor to run for president next year — before his political currency dries up. Others disagree

Jeb Bush has kept a low profile since leaving his post as Florida Governor. But commentators are running wild on the suggestion of a Bush on the 2012 ballot.
(Image credit: Getty)

Is America ready for a third Bush in the White House? And if so, when? These are the questions flummoxing supporters of Jeb Bush, the popular former governor of Florida and the subject of a glowing profile in this month's National Review. Though the younger brother of the 43rd president told the National Review what he has always said — that he would pass on a 2012 run, but would consider a 2016 campaign — some commentators are saying that he can't afford to wait. Should he think again?

Yes. 2012 is Bush's best hope for success: Bush must strike now, says Rich Lowry at the National Review. Waiting another four years would be disastrous. By then, a "bumper crop of Republican talent" — Marco Rubio and Chris Christie, for example — will be "poised to storm the national stage." Right now, there's a "beatable incumbent president," and the field is wide open. "So why isn't he running?"

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