While Clinton and others joust with the press, Jeb Bush embraces it

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush smiles as he is introduced to speak at the Detroit Economic Club about his "Reform Conservative Agenda" in Detroit, Michigan, February 4, 2015 REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Jeb Bush is setting the pace for press access in the 2016 campaign. And as political reporters, we love this.

In the last 24 hours, Bush e-mailed a comment to a New York Times reporter for a profile of one of his top aides. He gave an interview to the National Journal. After his speech in Detroit, he also took questions from reporters and appeared quite comfortable in doing so. It is an echo of his first foray into his soon-to-be campaign, when he announced he would release a trove of e-mails from his two terms as Florida governor. (Of course, the e-mails were hardly under lock and key because of sunshine laws; it was much more a symbolic move.)

As a campaign strategy (yes, he is running), this is a good thing for Bush, if he can pull it off. It's also a marked contrast from his top likely opponents.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) gives lots of interview, yes, but lately he has shushed, condescended and argued his way through some of them. In London, Gov. Chris Christie responded to a question about the Islamic State with this: "Is there something you don't understand about 'No Questions'?" And Hillary Clinton has basically avoided the political media for months, though her aides are keen on resetting the tense relationship she has historically had with the press.

Many reporters who r in Detroit today ran into @JebBush. He's chatted/answered their questions. Now compare that to Hillary & her entourage.

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) February 4, 2015

Having a combative relationship with the political press is easy. We're not popular. We get it. Few people have sympathy for us when a politicians claims to have been wronged. But Bush is up to something very different. In the past, he has said that he wants to run "joyously," and a McCain-2000-esque relationship with the press is one way to convey that. It is also a way to show he is not taking a run -- or the GOP nomination -- for granted.

With his interviews, Bush is also doing something simple. He is introducing himself to the press and to the public. He is saying, 'You know my last name, but you don't know me.' And he is mostly right. Bush, who was also relatively accessible to the press as Florida governor, has not run for office since 2002, and while he has weighed in from time to time on issues (education and immigration), how his approach and worldview fits into the current governing climate are not clear.

The current governors and possible candidates will have their state of the state addresses and real-time decision making to do. The senators who might run will have their votes and floor speeches. In talking to the press, Bush is not only dusting off the campaign cobwebs, but he is jumping into the current arena, trying to declare himself to be his own man.

Bush also knows that his campaign will be, in many ways, compared to the presidencies of his father and brother. By talking more with the press, he's showing his own personal brand and hoping to prove he's not just another Bush. He's saying, 'I know this nomination isn't my birthright."

Bush is not a candidate yet. He hasn't won a contest or a primary, much less the nomination. As we've seen in the past -- most notably with McCain 2000 vs. McCain 2008, transparency often fades when the stakes are higher. But as of now, Bush is effectively setting the terms for press engagement. Rest of the pack, take note.