On Squawk Box yesterday, Jeb Bush was asked about his future and a certain best-seller's (video here).
QUESTION: Would you answer my question about who should run in 2012? Are you gonna run again? For anything?
[Jeb laughs]
JEB: I don't know. I'm trying to achieve financial security for my family first, and I'm involved in education reform, which is where my passions are.
QUESTION: Would you advise the Republicans to run Palin?
JEB: Would I advise? I think we ought to have an open primary, for sure. If she wants to run...
QUESTION: [interrupting] ... do you think she could win?
JEB: She might. She's incredibly charismatic, and look, these are challenging times. I think candidates need to re-tool every step along the way. They need to have intellectual curiosity to deal with the fast moving nature of life. Understanding how China operates today for the next President of the United States is going to be a dominant aspect of the job
.... I think you want to have a candidate who is curious enough to go try and seek out the best people in the world to try to help them craft policies that are relevant to 2012, and if Sarah Palin does that, she's going to be a formidable candidate.
QUESTION: Do you still have the hunger for office? Do you miss the buzz of running?
JEB: What I miss is service. Being Governor was the coolest job in the world.
Notice that he brings up "intellectual curiosity" in his discussion of Palin. Is he implying she doesn't have any? And what about his brother, who was also saddled with the same perception?
