The shadow of President Bush seemed to loom large over his younger brother on Wednesday, as the outgoing Florida governor ruled out any plans to return to elected office.Compared to his brother, Jeb is the smarter of the two (then again, so is the philodendron I have in my living room), and he hasn't completely trashed the place. That, however, is not a positive recommendation for a job: "He didn't screw up too badly."
"No tengo futuro (I have no future)," Jeb Bush told Spanish-language reporters in Miami, when asked about any possible political ambitions after he steps down next month.
The popular, two-term governor has often been touted as a savvy politician with a good chance of following both his brother and father, George H.W. Bush, into the White House.
But the unpopularity and dismal job-approval ratings of his brother may have scuttled any plans Jeb Bush may have had for a future in politics after running one of America's most crucial swing states for the past eight years.
Had circumstances been different -- had Jeb won his first try at the governorship in 1994 -- he might have been the Bush son that ran in 2000, leaving George to keep on doing whatever it was that he was doing back in Texas (Super Mario Brothers champ, perhaps?) and we would have been spared this trek into Cloud Cuckooland.
