I shouldn’t really say looking up, since the GOP is still without an interesting or desirable candidate, but I’m happy that Huckabee is out, and I don’t have to spend 2012 listening to him talk about what kind of big government “Jesus juice” he drinks. Now Trump is out, and I don’t have to ponder the possibility of  a guy that lost a fortune in the casino business trying to figure out how to solve our massive deficit.
Now if only Mitt and Santorum would exit stage right (or stage left for Mitt?), things might to start to actually look up. Sure, there’s still Gingrich, but we can still hold out hope that the 90s will call, and ask for their candidate back.
So the worst of the worst is out, now we just have to figure out which is the best of the worst?
Who does that leave? Ron Paul? As much as I like Ron Paul, I don’t see him winning the popularity contest. He looks like Bob Dole, McCain all over again.
Herman Cain is right on with what he says, but will he be able to raise the cash?
The rest of the field is a bunch of “who’s that guy” guys with little name recognition and fund raising ability.
It’s a fair question. I don’t particularly like that we don’t have a candidate with experience running a large campaign. Mitch Daniels is at least a Governor with executive experience and has run a state wide campaign. He might be our best bet.
Glad Huck is out too…and I heard the Grinch (Newt) stuck his foot in his mouth this wknd too. No Santorum, please…don’t need a bible-beater in the WH.
Herman Cain is nice and all (definitely takes away the race-card) but he’s really not held a politically elected office? CEO of Godfather pizza and was pres of the Federal Reserve but foreign policy anyone? Doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies when a candidate isn’t a Congressman, Senator or better yet a Governor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Cain
Mitch Daniels sounds good or how about Tim Paw from Minnesota? He dealt with a Democratic House and Senate for most of his 2 terms there…problem is, not a lot of people know him.
Finally, could the VP candidate help the Repubs win? How about a VP candidate of Connie Rice? Would it help? She has National Security and lets say foreign policy experience?
I’d be OK with Mitch Daniels. All the rest won’t get me very excited. But I am more interested in taking the Senate back.
I like Mitch, but it’s time for his wife to stop making the news and his decisions. He’s either in or out, not this dance his wife has him doing.
Rick Santorum will be gone soon, he’s not raising money nor will he. The right needs to leave the loser social issues alone and focus on jobs, foreign relations, and the economy.
“loser social issues”: the ones that actually have the potential to peel away some of Obama’s black and Hispanic vote, and many of his conservative white Democrat voters. Take a look at who voted for Prop. 8 in California.
I agree that at a national level, the primary focus needs to be on jobs and the economy. Everything else is pretty much noise until those are solved. But those social issues tend to be dividers within the Democratic Party coalition. The 2004 Ohio victory for Bush had a bit to do with large black turnout to vote in favor of “one man, one woman.”
Wasn’t planning on promoting Huck, but “Jesus Juice?” I thought we were leaving religious intolerance to the father’s of gun violence victims?
Stephen:
Follow the link… that’s Huck’s own words.
I ran into this lady last night at a local fast food joint, looking for volunteers for her campaign
http://www.madamepresident2012.com/
It is always a good sign when the candidate won’t put her name on her website.
“It is always a good sign when the candidate won’t put her name on her website”
It’s right on the top of the site and all over all the other pages.
Shelia “Samm” Tittle
I’m voting for Mickey Mouse this time around. PA is out of play anyway……..
Nice basic analysis, Sebastian. In response to David (above, at 1:22 p.m.) regarding Ron Paul: The thing is that while Ron Paul probably couldn’t get the GOP nomination, in a head-to-head against Obama, Paul has the best chance of winning.
The GOP has got to decide whether they just want a CANDIDATE, or do they want a PRESIDENT?
With Ron Paul, they could actually get a President. With the others you mention, it will be one more case of the GOP deciding who carry the banner for three months, and lose under the banner in November 2012. Nothing like those far-right GOP minds to produce one more losing candidate and hand the election to Obama.
Agreed with one of the women, the thing about Ron Paul is he has the ability to steal votes from the left from Obama. He beats Obama on the anti-war front, he does better than Obama say on the drug legalization people, so yeah the primaries are his biggest problem. Head to head he could really hurt Obama.
Ron Paul is a single digit candidate nationwide no matter how you look at it. I think if he went up against Obama, Obama would beat him badly. The general public is not all that remarkably libertarian.
No one wants Ron Paul to win less than Ron Paul and the network that is using him as a decoy for name and address harvesting and fund raising.
Whether there is an immediate political motive behind that political network-building, or whether it is only cynical fund raising, possibly with the money being directed to other causes, remains to be seen. But, so far it has been astoundingly successful for those purposes.
It doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies when a candidate IS a Congressman, Senator or better yet a Governor. There are no sitting congress people or governor except Ron Paul or maybe Paul Ryan who would actually make significant changes to the current fiscal and monetary situation. And Ron Paul cannot win and Paul Ryan is not running. I’ll take a Herman Cain and a large pepperoni to go please.
Herman Cain is the best bet by a long shot. He’s a real conservative (and those of you who think that most of the country doesn’t care about social issues really aren’t paying attention) and he’s pro-FAIR TAX. If you don’t think that would have a bigger economic impact than 95% of what everyone else is proposing, you’re dreaming.
Also, I can’t believe that anybody would look at his lack of public office as a NEGATIVE? I mean… what?! You think Ted Kennedy was a good presidential canidate back in the day? You must, because public office and a tumbler of scotch is all he ever held.
Ron Paul got, like, 3% of the vote in the primaries last time. He couldn’t beat McCain, and McCain couldn’t beat Obama, and I wouldn’t vote for any of those three. If he can’t win Republican voters, who the hell thinks he can win over Democrats? If it’s such a lock, why doesn’t he switch parties? He surely would have gotten the nomination over Obama, right? Please…
I like Herman Cain, but being a real conservative doesn’t matter for crap if you can’t raise money.
Personally, I like the comment from Mike Mardell of the BBC:
The lunatic fringe will not be represented in the Republican race. I am, of course, talking about his hair, not his politics.
Definitely can’t disagree, no matter how hard I try.
armed_partisan, WHOEVER is the GOP nominee will get most GOP votes in November. But in order to win, the GOP candidate would have to get votes from independents and Dems also. And the “darlings” of the GOP for the most part can’t do that. The trouble the GOP has is going too far to the right when picking it’s nominee. Result is that the select someone who is great under the balloon drop at the convention, but a total wash in November. I have faith that the GOP will do it again in 2012. They want to turn a national election into a time to say, “We hate gays, and we don’t like abortion, and we don’t like marijuana.” Well, okay, how does that help the economy? The economy is the biggest disaster we have right now. And unless that is addressed effectively, everything else is a wash.
Lets talk about the loser social issues for a minute. Here are some of those issues and places I don’t want the government. In my bed or worried about what I do there, in my doctors office governing my medical choices, in my gun safe telling me what I can’t have cause it looks scary, in my schools telling me what history and science I can and can’t learn, in my driveway worried about the mpg of the car I can afford to buy and drive,
These are just some of the things that the federal gov’t should stay the hell out of. It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs. The gov’t needs to get the hell out of the way and take down the barriers that are slowing making the Chinese more competitive, more wealthy, and more focused.
Cain is not a “real conservative”, unless real conservatives voted for TARP and support amnesty for illegals.
Personally I like Paul but I can’t see him winning. Every liberal voter attracted by his libertarian view on drugs will be matched with four votes on the conservative side who sit out the election. Also, Paul will be 77 by the time the election rolls around, and I think he is no match for Obama in terms of media image. The guy makes McCain look young!
@23
If you think Ron Paul looks old compared to John McCain then you must be looking at picture of him when he was still flying jets for the US Navy prior to him being captured and tortured by the Communists. John McCain has endured a boat load of life. He looks old – that is the look of real world experience (not that I count him being an elected official as real world experience).
“These are just some of the things that the federal gov’t should stay the hell out of.”
Agreed. A federal candidate is a very different situation from a state candidate for that reason. The Constitution leaves most authority to the states to make laws, both obnoxious and sensible.
I don’t think Ron Paul can win against Obama. But I don’t think the GOP has a candidate who can. Not revealed as of yet.
But 2016 is another matter. If President Obama keeps VP Biden. He’ll pretty much guarantee a Democrat loss bar some economic miracle. Ron will be too old. But his son Rand will be in the perfect position to run. 4 years as Senator. Younger more visually appearing candidate.
I do think Ron vs Barack, is far from a single digit candidate. I’d wager he’d win 33% of the vote.