JEB for 2012

National Review editor urges Jeb to run
By: CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney


(CNN) – Fresh off putting Jeb Bush on the cover of his magazine this week, National Review Editor Rich Lowry is now actively urging the younger brother of the former president to seek the White House himself - now.

Writing on the National Review’s website Monday, Lowry says it’s now or never for the popular former Florida governor who has already explicitly ruled at a 2012 bid, saying waiting four years will risk diminishing his legacy while a bumper crop of new Republican leaders emerge.

“Four years after leaving the Florida governor’s mansion, he remains one of the most impressive Republican politicians in the country, a formidable policy mind with the political chops to drive conservative reforms even out of office. So why isn’t he running for president?” asks Lowry.

Lowry lists eight reasons why Bush must and should run this presidential election cycle, including his belief that 2016 will prove too late for the younger Bush who at that point will have been out of office for 10 years.

“No doubt he will have made many contributions to the cause in the interim, but by then his main credential — his governorship and its accomplishments — will seem like yesterday’s news. Right now he has the feel of an elder statesman of the party while his time in office is still fresh,” writes Lowry.

Other reasons Lowry says Bush should run now: “The Bush rehabilitation has begun,” “He’s not just another Bush,” and “Waiting is almost always a mistake.”