How about another president Bush?

Republican post-election soul searching has led some GOP insiders back to comfortable territory: How about a President Bush?

Jeb Bush, brother of George W., son of H.W., and former Florida governor, is on the minds of some GOP operatives who are already plotting for 2016. They see Jeb Bush as a candidate from the key state of Florida who has strong ties to the Hispanic community. In other words, they look at Bush and they see Electoral votes.

Because of Bush’s moderate positions on issues, independents and centrist Democrats might be tempted to vote for him. But those who didn’t particularly care for the father or the brother aren’t very likely to adopt a “third time’s a charm” attitude.

Bush’s biggest obstacle may well be the Bush name.

That is unfortunate, because he is considered one of the nation’s top policy experts within the category of current/former elected officials.

The former governor opened his fifth annual education conference in Washington on Tuesday and, according to the National Journal, the strength of his speech was his “seamlessly blending the concerns of liberals and conservatives, suburban moms and corporate executives. Among the hundreds of policy wonks in the audience were powerful political consultants and fundraisers chomping at the bit should he run for public office again.”

National Journal’s Beth Reinhard found Bush’s comments and demeanor fully in tune with that of a future presidential candidate.

Here’s a portion of what she wrote:

“Bush showed off both his political skills and mastery of policy in his speech opening the 2-day summit attended by about 900 people. He was affable and self-deprecating when he introduced Govs. Bev Perdue of North Carolina and Paul LePage of Maine, adding with a shoulder shrug, "Governors are really important, I think...I used to be one.” But he was dead serious when he talked about the stark achievement gaps between rich and poor students. “Where is the outrage?” he demanded. “Shameful,” was the way he described “social promotion,” the practice of allowing failing students to advance to the next grade.

“To Bush, the solution is clear. He believes in school accountability as fervently as Grover Norquist believes in lower taxes. Bush’s interest in education policy has long been interwoven with his political career, ever since a bitter loss in his first governor’s race in 1994 led him to establish an inner-city charter school.”