Because there are no two phrases Americans still recovering from the recession like to hear in the same sentence more than "Bush" and "Wall Street," Bloomberg News reports that Wall Street's money men are really hot on the idea of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush running for president in 2016.
See, Wall Street wants a Republican president who will stop hounding on all that "Wall Street vs. Main Street" rhetoric and trade in regulations for tax cuts. They're not really excited by certain wings of the Republican party that are too hung up on social policy. Wall Street has gay friends! Plus, they're not exactly all biblically upstanding citizens themselves. *Insert Wolf of Wall Street joke here.*
Bush himself has said that the party's social policy is driving away potential voters.
"Way too many people believe Republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker, and the list goes on and on and on," Bush said at CPAC in 2013. "I'm here to tell you there is no 'us' or 'them.' The face of the Republican Party needs to be the face of every American, and we need to be the party of inclusion and acceptance."
Plus he's a former Wall Street guy himself. Sort of. After leaving office in 2007 he became an advisor to Lehman Brothers until that investment bank collapsed in 2008.
With New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's fortunes falling, Bush has now become Wall Street's great hope.
"If Jeb says 'I'm in,' I think all the Wall Street money goes to him," Greg Valliere, chief political strategist for a research group that analyzes policy for investors says. "Like, immediately."
Jack Oliver, a senior adviser for Barclays Group and a George W. Bush finance campaign vet, says he's behind Bush. So does Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, former CEO and chairman of AIG.
However, Wall Street types Bloomberg News talked to say they're far from settled on a preferred candidate, but Bush's name kept coming up.
One Florida name they seem more wary of: Senator Marco Rubio. They're not exactly onboard with his "No debt ceiling raises, no way" vibe.
[h/t: The Awl]
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