海角大神

It鈥檚 looking more likely than ever that Jeb Bush will run for president in 2016.

Supporters of the former Florida governor have said for months that Jeb is seriously considering a White House bid. And on Sunday we got the hardest bit of evidence yet that Bush may jump in: His son, George P. Bush, told ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� that dad is giving 鈥渟erious thought鈥� to running.

鈥淚f you had asked me a few years back, I would have said it was less likely,鈥� said the younger Bush, who is himself running for land commissioner in Texas.

True, this isn鈥檛 close to a definitive statement. The serious-thought-to-running formulation is the way Jeb Bush himself has been talking about the White House for some time. Jeb has come across as truly reticent about the demands of a campaign. While he鈥檚 out campaigning for GOP candidates prior to the 2014 midterms, he hasn鈥檛 been nearly as ubiquitous as, say, Hillary and Bill Clinton.

But time is rushing onward. We鈥檙e reaching the stage in the 2016 invisible primary where it鈥檚 time for Bush to start damping down his supporters鈥� enthusiasm if he鈥檚 leaning towards no-go.

After all, one of the main purposes of signaling you might run is to keep party donors and campaign workers from committing to other candidates. Those folks may feel cheated if they wait too long and Bush never gets on the bus. This could spread ill-will towards Jeb in particular and the Bush family in general.

Plus, 2016 might be Jeb鈥檚 best shot. The establishment wing of the Republican Party doesn鈥檛 yet have an obvious champion 鈥� hence all the talk about resurrecting the Mitt Romney candidacy. Hillary Clinton is the likely Democratic candidate, which could cancel out the family dynasty issue in a general election.

鈥淒emocrats have been 鈥榬eady for Hillary鈥� since the day Obama won re-election. Now, even George P. Bush鈥檚 statement on Sunday, Republicans have to start asking themselves whether they鈥檙e ready for Jeb,鈥� .

That said, Bush faces obvious hurdles to winning the Republican nomination. He鈥檚 to the left of much his party on immigration. He has supported Common Core educational standards, which are anathema to many conservatives in the GOP. In 2012, he indicated he would consider supporting a national fiscal package that included tax hikes, if it also had substantial budget reductions. If there鈥檚 anything that unites Republican factions, it鈥檚 opposition to increased taxes under virtually all circumstances.

Given all this, it鈥檚 clear he鈥檇 face substantial opposition within his own party.

鈥淲oke up hoping this Jeb Bush stuff was just a dream,鈥� , senior editor at the right-leaning publication The Federalist, on Monday morning.