Bush urges brother Jeb to run for White House

Dallas

Former US president George W. Bush urged his younger brother Jeb to aim for the White House in a 2016 campaign that could enshrine his family as America's ultimate political dynasty.

"He'd be a marvelous candidate if he chooses to do so," Bush said, when asked about Jeb's presidential prospects in an ABC News interview aired Wednesday on the eve of the dedication of his presidential library in Texas.

"He doesn't need my counsel 'cause he knows what it is, which is 'run,'" Bush said. "But whether he does or not, it's a very personal decision."

Were it not for family baggage following his brother's controversial presidency, Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, would likely be the hot favorite for the Republican party's nomination in three years.

Should he overcome such an obstacle and win the presidency, he would follow his brother and his father George H.W. Bush into the White House, keeping power in the family in a way never before seen in American politics.

The elder Bush also set tongues wagging in the interview by speculating that Jeb Bush could even face former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, should she chose to make another run at the Democratic nomination.

"It would be a fantastic photo," Bush quipped, but warned that the likely 2016 field would not become clear until after the mid-term elections.

A Clinton-Bush run would revive memories on the 1992 election, when Bill Clinton ejected Bush senior from power after a single term.

The two men are now friends. The younger Bush and the former Democratic president are also said to get along well.