Former President George W. Bush said that he would keep a low profile while his brother Jeb campaigned for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination so that "he doesn't need to defend me," according to
Politico.
The former president was in Chicago on Wednesday to address the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society conference. His administration was instrumental in promoting the use of digitized medical records.
The elder Bush told the conference, "it's an easy line to say, 'Haven't we had enough Bushes?' After all, even my mother said, 'Yes.' "
He said: "That's why you won't see me out there, and he doesn't need to defend me, and he's totally different from me."
The 43rd president continued: "The role of family is not to be a political adviser or a policy adviser. There are plenty of those around. The role is to say, 'Hey man, I love you.' "
Bush said that the quest for the White House would be punishing. "It's going to be a hard test for everyone, but it should be. You want to see these candidates under pressure, see them fail and succeed, so you have a better idea how they'll handle the pressures of the job.
"Jeb has actually run something, called a state. That's a skill that comes in handy where you're in charge of a very complex, multifaceted organization," according to Politico.
The younger Bush was the 43rd governor of Florida.
"The president needs people around him who are there to say they want to help. Imagine if instead Laura had been saying to me, 'what the hell did you get us into this for?' " said Bush. "You're living in a museum. It's cold. It's not your furniture. It's Jefferson's furniture.
"My two girls had no desire to see me run for office. Their response was, 'you're not as good as you think you are; you're going to lose.' And when that didn't' work, 'you're going to ruin our life.' "
The former president said he had told his brother: " 'Hang in there; you can do the job. Will you win? I hope so but I don't know.' But if he does he'd be a damn good president, I'll tell you that."