John Grant: Why Jeb Bush is the best bet for Republicans in 2016

The big question in the 2016 presidential sweepstakes is: Will Jeb run? The answer remains unknown, perhaps even to Jeb Bush and his wife Columba. It is not an easy decision.

One night over dinner in Houston some dozen years ago, President George H. W. Bush told me about the soul- searching process his older son, George W., was going through in making that same decision.

Few realize the commitment it takes to run for the presidency and the toll it takes on your personal and family life.

I remember grilling steaks on Jeb’s back deck right after his father had been elected president and before the inauguration. I asked him how he felt about his father becoming the next president.

He said he had mixed emotions. He was proud of his father and knew how qualified his father was to be president. But he also said that he knew that “the minute my dad raises his hand to take the oath of office, his life will never be the same.”

If anyone knows the pressure of high office, it is Jeb. He is a methodical and serious thinker and I know he is weighing the decision heavily.

The fact that this is the third presidential election cycle where his name is in the mix, and the first where he has not given it a flat no, makes me think he is seriously considering it.

Personally and for America, I hope he runs. It is my hope for one reason. He is the only Republican who can beat Hillary Clinton. Reason enough!

Jeb and I go back to the days when I was a freshman senator and he was the Secretary of Commerce in the Martinez administration. We have worked closely together ever since. I was the point person for much of his legislation when he was governor. When I left the Florida Senate, I joined the Executive Office of the Governor as Jeb’s first Statewide Public Guardian.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t agree with Jeb on everything. He is a little more moderate than I am. But that’s why he can get elected. Jeb Bush has the best chance of anyone to coalesce the Republican vote and the heart of America.

In elections, realism often must trump idealism. Too often parties and people think ideologically in nominating and voting for candidates, but at the end of the day, what counts is who can get elected. If the Republicans want to win, Jeb had better be the standard bearer.

Let’s review a few facts. After eight years of left of center Oval Office leadership, most Americans are looking for a move to the ideological middle and not much further.

Tea Party loyalists can demand a right of center candidate, but do they really want to help elect Hillary?

Who knows why he passed twice before, but I am sure he was concerned with the “dynasty” issue. “Another Bush,” the people would say. But now who can raise that issue with the putative opponent being one who has already lived eight of her years in the White House?

The Bush family knows how to campaign. I well remember a personal call from the then Vice President Bush, who dialed me direct and asked for my vote. I had been leaning to Jack Kemp, but quickly hopped on the Bush bandwagon and have never regretted it.

President Obama has carried Florida in the last two presidential elections and right now, in a generic vote poll, Hillary carries it.

Jeb, and probably only Jeb, can change that and in my book whoever carries Florida wins the White House.

To top it off, Jeb is one of the most ethical and hardest-working people to ever serve in elected office. He stands for Judeo-Christian values and understands and supports the free enterprise economic system, qualities sorely missing in Washington leadership today.

When you consider these facts, if it doesn’t ring your bell to encourage Jeb to run, then your clapper is broken.

For me the choice is clear, but for Jeb it is for now a private and difficult one. I know he will make the right decision for himself and his family.

For America, I trust he will decide to run and run like a scalded dog, never looking back. America needs his brand of politics and his style of leadership.

That’s My Opinion and I am sticking to it.

John Grant is a political columnist who served 21 years in the Florida Legislature. He practices law in Tampa and is currently a member of the faculty at Taylor University. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Column courtesy of Context Florida.