Jeb Bush Eyes Florida Senate Run

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has diagnosed a problem with his party. As he told Newsmax recently, the GOP is in serious danger of becoming the "old white-guy party." Well, evidently, Jeb seems to have a possible solution. He himself is considering a run for Mel Martinez's soon to be vacated Senate seat. Yes, the best way to diversify the Republican party is to replace the only Hispanic GOP Senator (or person of color of any kind, for that matter) with yet another old white guy. "Old" is a relative term, of course. And, to be fair, Jeb is only 54, a veritable infant in congressional circles. But his election to the Senate would certainly make it no more diverse.

Martinez, the first Cuban-born American to reach the Senate, was a champion of Immigration Reform, a plank noticeably missing from the Republican Party platform in St. Paul this summer. Not a month before the stinging GOP defeats in November, he resigned his post as party chairman. Now, he's set to leave Washington for good.

The contest to decide Martinez's "one and done" successor will prove interesting. Some here in Florida have speculated that current Governor Charlie Crist may also be interested in a run. Crist and Bush are said not to get along all that well, and the match-up between the state's two most recent chief executives would also offer a glimpse at the party's future. Bush favors a return to hardcore Republican principles, and warns against moderation. Crist is much more of a centrist.

Either way, the Republican delegation to the Senate will most likely turn a whiter shade of pale.