The Bush Clan Eyes the White House

Voters have made their peace with George W. Bush, which is all the more reason for brother Jeb to possibly run against Obama.

Jeb Bush is a talented politician. That’s at least the bipartisan opinion in the United States. But the former Florida governor is also former President George H.W. Bush’s son, as well as former President George W. Bush’s brother. The latter’s image seemed tarnished by the Wall Street crisis, the Afghanistan war and, above all, his invasion of Iraq, causing journalist and best-selling author John Heilemann to remark that Jeb would be the clear Republican favorite to run for the presidency in 2012 were it not for his family name.

But George W. Bush’s negatives seem to be gradually diminishing, fueling speculation that Jeb might run, like his father and brother did. A return to George W. Bush is especially popular in Ohio, which is a state Obama won in 2008. A poll taken by the famous Public Policy Polling institute revealed that 50 percent of those asked would prefer to have Bush back as president. Only 42 percent responded in favor of Obama. Among independents, Bush leads by 44 to 37 percent. Even 11 percent of Democrats voted in favor of Bush, while a mere 3 percent of Republicans preferred Obama.

Jeb Bush, Favorite Son

Ohio is a microcosm of the United States. In this so-called swing state, the number of voters is split fairly evenly between Democrats and Republicans. The polling results there have special significance for the entire country: Ohio went for George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004 and for Obama over John McCain in 2008.

Jeb Bush, 57, is considered the elder Bush’s favorite son. That the 41st president wanted the talented Jeb to follow in his footsteps is a persistent rumor. The fact that his elder brother got the nod and served from 2001 to 2009 as America’s 43rd president seemed to observers to be the illegitimate coup of recklessness over intelligence. Texas-born John Ellis “Jeb” Bush was elected governor of the state of Florida in 1999, the first Republican in history ever elected to that office. And he is the first governor of the state to ever serve out the two terms to which incumbents are constitutionally limited. From politics, Jeb Bush entered the business world as a management consultant active in the timber and real estate businesses.

Jeb Bush, who graduated from the University of Texas, earning a degree in Latin American studies with honors, worked for two years in the Venezuelan branch of a Texas bank and takes a moderate position in the highly emotional and ongoing immigration debate in America. He rejects the hard line immigration approach taken by the state of Arizona. Because of such positions and his fluency in Spanish, he earned the support of Florida’s Hispanic minorities. Black voters praised his initiatives to strengthen public schools and for his support of health care reform. But with his opposition to same-sex marriage and support of the death penalty, the one-time Anglican, who converted to Catholicism in 1995, remains firmly on the Republican platform.

Not long ago, Jeb Bush assured conservative Fox News that he had no plans to run for the presidency in 2012. A year ago he said he didn’t have the luxury of being able to spend so much time campaigning. Since then, conditions for the party in which he’s a prominent fundraiser haven’t changed. High unemployment and the economic crisis still plague the Obama administration, but the Republicans still have no credible opponent.

He’s Considered a Republican Wild Card

Meanwhile, Tim Pawlenty, the 49-year-old governor from Minnesota, and Mitt Romney, the 63-year-old ex-governor of Massachusetts, have only limited support. Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives, would be 69 in 2012. And the opinionated Sarah Palin is generally considered unfit for the job. That’s why Jeb Bush is considered a wild card in the event that no other candidate makes it to the starting blocks.

Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg says, “If you’re Barack Obama, the firewall is the Latin belt from Florida to southwestern California. And there is only one Republican who can break through that firewall. And it is Jeb.”

If another Republican runs in 2012, however, the Bush dynasty hasn’t necessarily reached the end of its run in U.S. politics. Jeb Bush has been married to Mexican Columba Garnica Gallo since 1974 and has three grown children: two sons and a daughter.