Former first lady Barbara Bush reiterates in a new interview that presidents don’t have to be members of political dynasties.
“If we can’t find more than two or three families to run for office, that’s silly, because there are great governors and great eligible people to run,” Bush says in an interview that will air Monday on C-SPAN. “And I think that the Kennedys, Clintons, Bushes — there are just more families than that. And I’m not arrogant enough to think that we alone are raising” presidential candidates.
{mosads}Her son Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, is considered a potential contender for the GOP presidential race in 2016.
His mother was asked last year in an interview on NBC News’s “Today” show whether she thinks her son will run.
“He’s by far the best qualified man but no, I really don’t,” she said. “I think it’s a great country, there are a lot of great families. It’s not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there who are very qualified and we’ve had enough Bushes.”
Other former GOP governors are on the Republican National Committee’s recent 2016 presidential straw poll. They include Haley Barbour (Miss.), Mitch Daniels (Ind.), Mike Huckabee (Ark.), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Tim Pawlenty (Minn.).