Is the Crown Prince really going to run?

Yes, I AM the rightful heir. I AM entitled to the presidency,
and it IS my turn, but even a dumb legacy Bush and a clubhouse
doughboy like me knows Hilldog would biach slap me silly!

The conventional answer has to be, of course.  He is out raising tons of cash, dropping all sorts of media bombs that he is running.  Pundits say he is just delaying the formal announcement in order to run fund raising tricks around campaign finance laws like any good dishonest Bush would do.  

But is he REALLY running for himself? If he is, he is doing a really lousy job of it.  Of course any Bush would run with conceit. Daring the public to allow him to just assume office on his own terms.  But would he really want high profile public endorsements from people like Hank Paulson?

One alternative theory is that JEB! will eventually not run, and is doing what he is doing now to help Marco Rubio, and set him up for the nomination.  It's a crazy theory, and totally discounts the Bush pathology of entitlement, and it's probably wrong, but its a fascinating alternative idea.

How JEB! helps Marco Rubio: The former Florida governor makes Rubio look credibly conservative in comparison

(NY Daily News) - For all the handwringing on the right over former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Rubio potentially splitting donors, infrastructure and votes, Bush — by providing his younger friend with an ideal foil — is actually Rubio’s best shot at ascending through the primary.

Bush makes Rubio look young. He makes Rubio look new. And despite Bush’s authentic and enviable connection with Hispanic voters, Rubio actually is Hispanic.

Bush’s dynastic biography as the Andover-educated son of a President looks downright aristocratic next to Rubio’s story, his Cuban immigrant parents coming to America to escape communism and working hard to build a good life for Marco, who would end up attending four colleges, earn his a law degree and then run for office.

But the most important and generous help Bush inadvertently gives Rubio isn’t a biographical contrast. It’s a political one. Bush makes Rubio look more conservative. Read more.