(CNN) -- I've returned to Washington after a long time away in my home in Britain to get a sense of the political mood in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. And I'm pretty depressed to discover that everyone is talking about Jeb Bush. 

It's not that he wouldn't make a strong candidate for the GOP. It's that the thought of a third Bush in the White House feels distinctly un-American. Like you're all giving up on the whole "revolution" thing in favor of English-style aristocracy. 

Speculation was reignited -- one suspects entirely by accident -- when George P. Bush told ABC that his father is "giving [the presidency] serious thought and moving ... forward." I've heard the opposite, that the candidate hasn't quite got the requisite enthusiasm. He also has plenty of weaknesses hidden by the fact that he hasn't declared yet (voters are always far keener on people who aren't officially running than those who are). 

As Chris Cillizza wrote in The Washington Post, the former Florida governor's polling is unspectacular, he disagrees with the GOP base on some important issues and his patrician tone is better-suited to a general election than to a primary campaign. 

Having said that, Jeb would still be a more than worthy addition to the race that right now is full of newbies to national politics (Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, etc.). He has gravitas, executive experience in a major state and a record of winning votes among the groups to which Republicans know they need to reach out. 
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2016 presidential election