Jeb Bush carries so much weight (I mean that figuratively) in this state that all political aspirations ground to a halt while he mulled a run to fill the vacancy, come 2010, of Mel Martinez' U.S. Senate seat.

A few weeks ago, when Martinez announced his retirement, I drew a cartoon questioning whether this, or even two years from now, was the best time for someone to be running for office while saddled with the surname Bush.

Jeb must have seen it, because he clearly took its message to heart. Anyway, now that he's gone, all of the little gremlins are coming out of the woodwork to stake a claim, creating a domino effect that can be felt all the way down to dog-catcher level.