"I have no idea what he's going to do. I've asked him that question myself. I truly don't think he knows," Bush said in an interview with Florida reporters posted on the St. Petersburg Times Website.

The president said he had pushed his "independent minded" brother fairly hard about his plans after leaving the governor's office next January. He predicted Jeb could have a "very bright" political future.

"I would like to see Jeb run at some point in time, but I have no idea if that's his intention or not," Bush said.

Asked if Jeb should run for president, Bush said, "I think Jeb would be a great president. But it's up to Jeb to make a decision to run."

Jeb Bush, 53, has said repeatedly over the past year that he will not run for president in 2008. He has not said anything recently to indicate a change in his thinking.

In an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel published in mid-April, he was asked about his future when he leaves the governor's office.

Bush said: "There are two things politically that I won't do. I won't run for the Senate and I'm not running for president. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Jeb Bush's gubernatorial term ends in January 2007. George W. Bush's second presidential term ends in January 2009 and he cannot run again.

There has never been a case in U.S. history of two brothers serving as president.