National Review’s Rich Lowry has put forth the reasons why he believes the time is now for Jeb Bush to realize his presidential aspirations, provided of course that Bush does indeed have them.

There’s no doubt that when Jeb left the Governor’s Office in 2007, he was immensely popular in Florida.  His 65% approval rating was not a soft approval rating- it was based on his stewardship of Florida’s Budget and his substantive policy achievements, and they were wholly different from Charlie Crist’s similarly high approval ratings that were much more predicated on Charlie’s telegenic tan.

On the plus side, Jeb is a thoughtful policy wonk with an non-abrasive personality who genuinely seeks consensus on issues based on his underlying conservative governing philosophy, which are his strong suits.  It can also be said (arguably) that he is more conservative than either his father or his brother.

But then there’s the downside to a potential Jeb candidacy.  Aside from the enormous weight that the Bush name carries both pro and con, many in the Republican Party would be simultaneously weary and leery of yet another Bush as the party’s standard bearer.  From a policy standpoint, Jeb Bush’s support of pro-amnesty immigration measures could be seen as a deal-breaker for many.  Another factor to take into consideration is that Jeb’s conservative governing philosophy at the state level does not automatically translate into conservative governance and a sustained commitment to limited government at the federal level.

As we’ve previously chronicled here at the Shark Tank, there are occasions where Jeb’s rhetoric props up imaginary straw men between Hispanics and the GOP in lieu of a better message that Jeb could be convincingly communicating to all Latinos.  Jeb would be far better served if he were to charitably make the case as to why continued non-enforcement of our immigration laws and our borders have dire consequences for our national security, and also why the possibility of future amnesty measures threatens to change the political character of our nation forever.

The second term of Barack Obama is staring the nation directly in the face absent a strong conservative candidate who can effectively communicate.  While some of us may envision that the perfect candidate is suddenly going to appear out of nowhere, we are only kidding ourselves- most every potential viable candidate on the Republican side can be said to have serious liabilities of one sort or the other.  Another four years of Obama’s domestic socialism and recklessly naive foreign policy that directly jeopardizes national security are intolerable alternatives for people of any political persuasion who see Obama’s policies for what they truly are.

Is Jeb a viable candidate in 2012?  National Review certainly seems to be doing their share to make the case that he is.  The American Spectator says that drafting Jeb would be “Courting Disaster”, but what’s your take?  Would you support Jeb Bush for President in 2012?

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