Jeb Bush: ‘Not the Right Time to Return to Elected Office’

Susan Davis reports on politics. To the disappointment of Republicans—and his dad–former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced today that he would not run for the Senate in 2010, when retiring Sen. Mel Martinez ’s term expires. “While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to return to elected office,” Bush, the president’s younger brother, said in a statement released this afternoon. Bush expressed an interest in focusing on education reform, and he said he hopes to play a “constructive role” in efforts to rebuild the Republican Party, which has suffered losses in the previous two election cycles. He also made a plea for comity. “We must raise the level of debate to reflect the American people’s desire for change and bi-partisanship, embodied by November’s historic election,” he said, “President-elect [Barack] Obama ran a tremendous campaign and I am proud to call him my President. I am ... (link)