Jeb Bush has been the most careful of potential candidates, eschewing the spotlight and saying his time may have passed. But make no mistake that Florida’s popular former governor is part of the mix, willing or not. Yesterday, he got front-page treatment from the New York Times and a segment on CNN.

NYT: Mr. Bush is said by friends to be weighing financial and family considerations — between so many years in office and the recession his wealth took a dip, they said, and he has been working hard to restore it — as well as the complicated place within the Republican Party of the Bush brand. Asked this week about whether his father would run, Jeb Bush Jr. told CNN, “I certainly hope so.

For now, however, “It’s neither a ‘no’ nor a ‘yes’ — it’s a ‘wait and see,’ ” said Al Cardenas, the chairman of the American Conservative Union and a longtime friend and adviser to Mr. Bush. “It continues to intrigue him, given how much he has to share with the country.”

A Bush run would set up a clash with Sen. Marco Rubio, who is angling himself. Cardenas told the Tampa Bay Times last week, “I know for a fact one or the other may run but they both aren’t going to run against each other.”