WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush says he’s disappointed that his younger brother Jeb Bush has ruled out running for a Florida Senate seat in 2010.
The former Florida governor removed himself from consideration this week, saying now is not the right time for him to return to elected office.

“I am disappointed he didn’t run. I haven’t talked to him since he made the decision,” Bush said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.

“I actually wanted him to run for senator, but you know … We all have different family issues you’ve got to deal with,” Bush said. The Morning News will be Bush’s hometown paper when be begins his post-presidential life at his new home in Dallas later this month.

Bush said he will see his brother, and maybe get more details on his decision, when the family get together on Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Bush brothers will attend the commissioning of an aircraft carrier named for their father and former president, George H.W. Bush.

Asked about Jeb Bush’s decision and the future of the Bush “dynasty,” the president responded with a question of his own.

“You meant to ask: What is the future of the Bush family?” Bush said, laughing off the “dynasty” premise. “We will be healthy, happy people.”

Bush hands over the reins of presidential power to Barack Obama on Jan. 20, and says he plans to steer clear of party politics for a while.

  - Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (President George W. Bush with brother Jeb Bush at the White House, April 19, 2006)

WASHINGTON - Moving day is less than seven weeks away for President George W. and Laura Bush and they have finally settled on a house in the upscale Dallas, Texas neighborhood of Preston Hollow.

The neighborhood is about a 2-hour, 20-minute drive from their 1,600-acre (648-hectare) ranch in Crawford, Texas (according to Google Maps) which they also plan to keep.

“The President and Mrs. Bush do not have occupancy of the home, and therefore, no additional details will be provided,” said Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for the first lady. She declined to say whether the Bushes plan to take advantage of a drop in mortgage rates to buy the new digs.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the president’s personal accountant, as a trustee, had bought a home — valued at almost $2.08 million despite not officially being on the market — in the area on Oct. 3. He declined to tell the newspaper for whom he had bought the house (which has four bedrooms, 8,501 square feet (790 sq metres) of living space including servants’ quarters). 

The newspaper also said that a local blog reported that the house next door  — on the market for $1.6 million — was placed under contract last week but the buyer was not yet known.

And as much as Bush loves the Crawford ranch where he has built bike trails, he will likely be spending a good bit of time in Dallas to oversee his library, museum and an institute on freedom on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

Mrs. Bush on Wednesday was asked by reporters about what she was buying the president for Christmas and she replied that with the sour economy the money likely would be spent on the new home.

“We will be moving to Dallas in January and there might be a new house coming along. So I think that’s where we’ll spend our Christmas money,” she said.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi (A home up for sale last year in Dallas)

ST. PAUL - “Mother. Moose hunter. Maverick.” As a film on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin began at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, a strangely familiar melody played in the background.

The swelling strings triggered associations of family, oil and … J.R. Ewing? Yes, the song bore a striking similarity to the theme song from “Dallas.”

Listen for yourself:

Sarah Palin bio (from about 0:35)

Dallas opening credits (from about 0:10)