WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush said Thursday that he wished his brother Jeb hadn't rejected a Senate run in Florida – a decision that apparently caught him off guard.

"I am disappointed he didn't run. I haven't talked to him since he made the decision," Bush said during an Oval Office interview with The Dallas Morning News in which he reflected on his tenure, his plans for a library and Freedom Institute, and the new life he and the first lady will begin in Dallas later this month.

"He'd be a great senator and I'm disappointed for the country. But I'm confident he has a good explanation. He's a good man, very accomplished person, very smart, capable and had a great record as governor of Florida," Bush said.

Bush said he'll steer clear of party politics for a while, at least, even in his home state. Asked to size up the Texas governor's race between two fellow Republicans – Rick Perry, his successor in the Governor's Mansion, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison – or to indicate which he'll support, Bush said: "I am not going to be involved in the primaries."

Does the president hope to see his brother run for the White House some day?

"I actually wanted him to run for senator, but you know … We all have different family issues you've got to deal with," he said, adding that he'll see his brother, and perhaps get more details, when the family convenes Saturday in Norfolk, Va., for the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

"My dad is some kind of fired up" about the vessel, Bush said.

And where does Jeb Bush's decision leave the Bush dynasty?

"You meant to ask: What is the future of the Bush family?" the president said, rejecting the "dynasty" premise with a laugh. "We will be healthy, happy people."