Sen. Jim DeMint, the conservative star from South Carolina, is keeping a close eye on the emerging 2012 presidential field. New names, he observes, keep popping up. One of those, of course, is former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Rich, Kathryn, and John have all written about Bush’s appeal in recent days.
DeMint, in an interview with National Review Online, calls Bush “one of the best” possible presidential contenders. “Maybe the person we are looking for has not stepped out yet; it could be a Rick Perry or a Jeb Bush.”
“[Bush] would be a really good president and a good candidate,” DeMint says. “He had a solid record as governor; he showed that he was willing to push innovative things in education and elsewhere.”
DeMint says President Obama is “clearly beatable.” But the GOP nominee, he argues, will need to be formidable, since the president may be able to bounce off of a rebounding economy. Numerous potential candidates, he says, “are watching to see where Obama’s popularity will be. A lot is going to depend on whether people believe that he has anything to do with the economy coming back. And it will come back; you can’t keep the American economy down.”
NRO wonders: In coming months, if Bush and other conservative favorites decide to sit out 2012, will DeMint feel compelled to jump in? “I really am trying to avoid that,” he tells us. “I’m looking for good candidates out there in the field.”
“I would have to feel a strong pull from people all over the country,” DeMint says. “Again, it’s not something that, right now, appears to be in my future.”
But could a grassroots ‘Draft DeMint’ movement stir him to run? “I don’t want to suggest that I’m waiting for any kind of draft,” he says. “It’s really not what I want to do. I really don’t have any intention of running. . . . I’m not ruling anything out, but it’s not something I want to do.”
Not another Bush. I'm sure Jeb is a wonderful person, but three is definitely going over the limit.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBecause the previous two Bush presidents were such resounding successes?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Numerous potential candidates, he says, 'are watching to see where Obama’s popularity will be.'"
Now that's leadership.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe GOP seems bound and determined to screw this up, don't they?
NO. MORE. BUSHES.
Go ahead. Nominate him. Sure. Fine. 4 more years of Obama and we'll never get rid of Obamacare.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJust a thought, but how about judging the man himself and not his family? Jeb isn't exactly a ... Kennedy, say, with no personal achievements. I'm openminded about Jeb and don't care what his last name is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI caught myself just in time -- you know when you splutter, "DeMint, you freaking RINO!" that you are getting close to the edge. But his Bush friendliness really is troubling.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat could judging the man on his merits, rather than by his name, possibly have to do with being a RINO?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBush will probably wait till 2016. Let some other light-weight be the sacrificial lamb in 2012.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
I'm not sure what happens if you fool me THREE times. I guess we all get to feel ashamed. God knows I'll feel that way if another member of the Rockefeller .. eh, I meant "Bush" clan ever wields political power in the country again.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm just not buying that, flenser. Why wouldn't you be able to judge whether Jeb is "like" his relatives? GWB's "compassionate conservatism" was there for all to see, if that is the flaw he shares with his father; he didn't hide it from us.
How would you explain Ron Reagan?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHere are the best and brightest who have sought the GOP presidential nomination in the last six cycles. I am sure you all can spot the ones who made it all the way through.
George HW Bush, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Pierre du Pont IV, Pat Robertson, Alexander Haig, Paul Laxalt, Harold Stassen, Pat Buchanan, David Duke, Steve Forbes, Lamar Alexander, Bob Dornan, Phil Gramm, Alan Keyes, Richard Lugar, Morry Taylor, Arlen Specter, Pete Wilson, George W Bush, John McCain, Gary Bauer, Orrin Hatch, Elizabeth Dole, John Kasich, Dan Quayle, Robert Smith, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson, and Ron Paul.
One name is unlike the others.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Why wouldn't you be able to judge whether Jeb is "like" his relatives?"
I AM able to judge it. The Bush family are peas from the same pod. Jeb Bush has the exact same big-business chamber-of-commerce Republicanism as his father and brother. That's the world they're from, that's the world they know.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI am not voting for another Bush.
I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI live in SC. Jim is sometimes better than than the avg. but that is not much of a recommendation.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMore childish proclamations from the side that is supposed to be less knee-jerk. Won't give the guy a fair shake because of who his family members are? Pretty pathetic.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDid I miss an announcement somewhere that today was Jeb Bush day?
Did google have his picture on their front page?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBush has no chance of beating Obama. The country hasn't recovered from GW. More time has to pass for Jeb to run and win.
DeMint? That is laughable. He has ZERO chance of becoming POTUS.
Unless the GOP nominates a centrist, they will lose in 2012. With teh senate moving further to the right in 2012, and the house firmly GOP, the independents are comfortable giving Obama another 4 because he'll be held in check by the Senate and House.
I honestly think someone who is an "outsider", like Donald Trump, has a great chance of beating Obama. Someone who the voters would perceive as being able to really shake things up and who is not beholden to any power group.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePlease do not compare candidates with an ideal, but with the plausible alternatives. Here (I think) is the complete list of presidential candidates who have won at least one GOP primary or caucus since 1988: McCain, Romney, Huckabee, GW Bush, Forbes, Dole, Buchanan, GHW Bush.
If I had to pick a nominee from either that list or Jeb Bush, Jeb would be a very easy choice. Maybe we'll get some better candidates this time, but if Jeb doesn't run the frontrunner will probably be Mitt "I signed Massachusetts' version of Obamacare and still think that was a good idea" Romney. While Mitt was pushing universal healthcare, Jeb was pushing school choice. The choice for conservatives in that match-up should be pretty clear.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnd after Jeb Bush, are we to be treated to his Border Patrol-bashing son, Jorge? In case you haven't noticed, we have 300 million people, many of them actually citizens, from whom to choose. And we are not British, hampered by dynastic rule. The last thing we need is another Clinton or another Bush.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNO MORE BUSHES, EVER!! Not Jeb, not George the 3rd, none of them!!
Jeb would push the same kind of Amnesty that GWB did, he'd also be the big spending, big government guy his brother and father were. We'd be headed in the same direction that 0bama has us headed into, but just a slight bit slower, but the destination would be the same.
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