His Jeb-ness

It doesn’t get much worse than this for Florida. Just as we finished the first round of cheers for the news that Republican Sen. Mel Martinez was able to read the handwriting on the wall and announce he will “retire” after his first term expires in 2010 rather than run for re-election, we got a shocker: Jeb Bush might run instead.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed that a mere 36 percent of Florida voters thought Martinez, who spent more time lately chairing the national GOP than serving Floridians, deserved re-election. Democrats weighed in on whether they wanted the job, while Republicans deferred to the incumbent. Now that it’s official Martinez knows he can’t win, all the contestants are surfacing — including Florida’s porcine-faced former governor.

Bush told Politico by e-mail Tuesday night: “I am considering it.”

Were Alex Sink to run against Jeb Bush, it would set up an interesting dynamic

Since Martinez’s announcement Tuesday, Bush has received many phone calls and emails from Floridians and national Republicans urging him to run, the source close to him said Tuesday night.

Bush has kept a low-profile since leaving office in 2007, but he retains a strong following among Florida Republicans and would almost certainly clear the Republican field should he decide to run.

But he’s in no hurry to decide, said a top adviser, and won’t make a decision until after the new year.

On the Democratic side, Florida’s chief financial officer and former Bank of America president Alex Sink had just finished changing her mind about running for the spot (she previously said she would not) when the Bush news broke. Were she to run against him, it would set up an interesting dynamic.

Sink’s husband, Bill McBride, ran against Jeb for governor in 2002. In a contest that foreshadowed the 2008 presidential race, McBride emerged the victor of a grueling primary battle with former Attorney General Janet Reno. But many of Reno’s supporters took their toys and went home, declining to support McBride, who never quite got his mojo back in time for the fight with Jeb. For Sink to have a go at the arrogant and snide former governor — and win — would be sweet indeed.