George Bush: My record won’t hurt Jeb run

Former President George W. Bush says his own controversial time in office wouldn’t hurt his brother, Jeb Bush, if he runs in 2016.

Appearing on “Today,” host Savannah Guthrie noted that, at one point, “it might have been a nonstarter to have a Bush on the ticket.”

{mosads}“I don’t think it has anything to do with me,” the former president said.

He added that both brothers anticipate criticism that the Bushes are seeking to build a political dynasty.

“And there’d be a lot of ‘too many Bushes.’ And he understands that. I understand that too,” he said. “Of course, they said that about me.”

Bush said this weekend that there was a “50-50” chance that his brother, a former Florida governor, would run for president — and that he hopes he will.

“I think in his soul he knows he can do the job,” he said Monday, adding, “if he chooses to run, he’d be a formidable force.”

The former president has been promoting a new biography of his father that he wrote. Bush has led a largely private life since leaving office, taking up painting and leading annual bike rides for wounded veterans.

He has also developed a relationship with former President Bill Clinton, who has his own interest in the 2016 presidential race. His wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is weighing her own bid.

Bush said that even if the campaign again pitted the Clintons and Bushes against one another, it wouldn’t affect his relationship with his predecessor.

“We’re too professional for that in a sense,” he said.