Contrary to many conservatives, I hold Jeb Bush in high regard. That does not mean I agree with him on everything. I don’t. But he was an excellent governor. He has always been more intrinsically conservative than his brother. He relates well to the growing hispanic community in the nation. And he understands that education is a civil rights issue.

I like him.

In 2012, I encouraged Jeb Bush to run for President. He would have been a far superior candidate to the Republican nominee.

But I think Jeb Bush’s time to run is over. We have an amazing crop of potential candidates and a far deeper bench than the Democrats. Bush running in 2016 would be a distraction in media coverage from a solid crop of candidates. Frankly, the idea of his candidacy is just a security blanket for the Linuses of the party who feel their control slipping away. It is not a surprise that many of them are former G.W. Bushies not yet ready to move out of the way for a new team with a new leader.

Jeb Bush is a great guy and I appreciate his contributions to the party over the years. But we have a solid bench to choose from in 2016. This flirtation both undermines the newer governors Jeb Bush helped elect and gives a new wedge for the media to put between the party leadership and its base headed into 2016.