Conservative magazine National Review is trying its damndest to convince Jeb Bush to run for president in 2012, with a cover story and a list of "at least eight reasons" why he shouldn't wait for 2016. (Jeb has ruled out a 2012 run, but has left the door open for future runs.) Here are a couple of the reasons:
5) Jeb will still be a Bush in 2016. There’s no doubt that it will always be awkward for Jeb to be the third Bush; it will always have a dynastic feel about it. But that will remain as true in 2016. If Jeb runs in four years, after Obama presumably wins a second term in 2012, he will still be vying to be the third Republican president in a row who’s a Bush. Waiting until 2016 won’t make that fact any less odd.6) He’s not just another Bush. Jeb is different from his patrician dad and different from his thoroughly Texan brother. As soon as people see him on the national stage, they’ll realize he’s his own person and has to be taken on his own terms.
The best part of this story is the comments, where National Review readers for the most part shit all over NR's attempts to draft Jeb Bush. Even other National Review writers are displeased with the idea.