The Slatest

Jeb Bush Will “Facilitate Conversations,” “Actively Explore” 2016 Presidential Run

Bush facilitates a public verbalization in 2013.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush—brother of George W. and son of George H.W.—announced today in a Facebook post that he will “explore the possibility of running for President of the United States” by launching a “Leadership PAC” to “facilitate conversations with citizens across America.” In normal-person language, this means that Bush will be able to raise and spend money while he figures out if a full-on campaign is feasible. Here’s the full text of his post:

Bush has the significant built-in advantage of name recognition and is considered a relatively centrist Republican who might appeal to moderate voters; on the other side of the ledger, Bloomberg’s Joshua Green wrote on Dec. 11, he also has a “Mitt Romney problem,” having spent recent years collaborating with foreign investors to launch several private-equity funds, one of which is registered overseas in an apparent effort to avoid United States taxes.