A 3rd President Bush? First 2 All for It

President Bush, center, talks with Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., left, as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, right, looks on during his arrival at MacDill Air Force Base, Tuesday, May 9, 2006 in Tampa. Bush's Florida travels put him smack in the middle of a political brouhaha involving his brother and the woman who helped the president win the White House. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday that Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., can't win her campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. The governor is pushing Florida House Speaker Allan Bense to challenge Harris in the Republican primary.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Could there be a third President Bush? The current chief said Wednesday that younger brother Jeb would make a great one, too, and has asked him about making a run. The first President Bush likes the idea as well.

Jeb Bush, the Republican governor of Florida, has one asset that his presidential brother doesn't right now _ approval from most of his constituents. While George W. Bush's approval ratings are in the low 30s, some 55 percent of Florida voters surveyed last month by Quinnipiac University said Jeb was doing a good job.

The governor has repeatedly said he won't be a candidate for president in 2008, but that doesn't stop his family from encouraging him to go for it some day.

"I would like to see Jeb run at some point in time, but I have no idea if that's his intention or not," the president said in an interview with Florida reporters, according to an account on the St. Petersburg Times Web site.

He said his brother would make "a great president" and that he had "pushed him fairly hard about what he intends to do."

"I truly don't think he knows," Bush said.

Jeb Bush, 53, will end his second term as governor in January. His brother George ends his second presidential term in January 2009. Neither can seek re-election because of term limits.

The governor got the buildup from his brother on the same day that he got some bad news out of Tallahassee. Florida House Speaker Allan Bense said Wednesday that despite personal appeals from the governor, he will not challenge Rep. Katherine Harris for the party's nomination for U.S. Senate.

Jeb Bush has said he doesn't think Harris, the former secretary of state famous for her role in the 2000 Florida recount that clinched George Bush's presidential bid, can win the seat.

The Bush name could hurt as well as help in national politics right now. But because of that familiar name and family connections throughout the country, Jeb Bush has the luxury of being able to wait and decide if he wants to run while other candidates have to get to work early.

"Right off the bat, if he decided to run, he's got the advantage over many of the others who might be contenders," said Republican political consultant Rich Galen, who has known the family since George H.W. Bush was vice president. "He doesn't have to establish his name. He's got it."

And, Galen points out, Jeb Bush has dealt with a lot of high-profile issues including hurricanes, immigration and sprawling development in one of the most important political states.