Yeah, Jeb Rush Is Running For President

In the November midterms, legacy candidates didn't fare at all well — but at least one person is hoping that'll pick up in time for 2016. Jeb Bush is "actively exploring" running for president, the younger Bush brother announced via both Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday morning in what can only be construed as a polite way of saying, "Yeah, my hat's in the ring. Get ready."

On Twitter, the former Florida governor got right to the point — as you're inclined to do with 140 characters — writing, "I am excited to announce I will actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States" and attaching a link to a Facebook post. On Facebook, he wrote:

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Like many of you, our family was blessed with the opportunity to gather together over the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

Columba and I are so proud of the wonderful adults our children have become, and we loved spending time with our three precious grandchildren.

We shared good food and watched a whole lot of football.

We also talked about the future of our nation. As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States.

In January, I also plan to establish a Leadership PAC that will help me facilitate conversations with citizens across America to discuss the most critical challenges facing our exceptional nation. The PAC’s purpose will be to support leaders, ideas and policies that will expand opportunity and prosperity for all Americans.

In the coming months, I hope to visit with many of you and have a conversation about restoring the promise of America.

Best wishes to you and your families for a happy holiday season. I’ll be in touch soon.

Jeb's brother, the unforgettable George W. Bush — currently back in the spotlight in the midst of horror over the disclosures of the United States' post-9/11 torture program, and not just because the CIA used Barney music to torture detainees — has been dropping hints for a while, saying last month that Jeb was "50/50" on running. (That same "haven't made up my mind!" nugget is also being used by sources in regard to Hillary Clinton, who is almost certainly going to run and make all our dreams come true.)

The announcement comes one day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced she would definitely, certainly, absolutely not be running for president — and not long after Donald Trump made noises about how he might be. (I know. I know.) Also possibly in the race are Joe Biden, Scott Brown, Mitt Romney (he's strenuously denied this), Paul Ryan, and George Clooney. OK, I made the last one up, but there have certainly been rumors he's considering breaking into office — so although it would be more like 2020 than 2016, it's not outside the realm of possibility.

On Sunday, Jeb announced he'd be releasing 250,000 emails from his time in the Florida governor's office to the public. It's kind of the exact opposite to what's been happening with those Sony emails, because Sony is not running for the highest office in the United States and thus is not interested in transparency and/or a complete lack of skeletons in its closet.

Image: Getty Images