Newsweek has posted its listing of potential GOP Presidential candidates to try and regain the White House and send Obama packing as a one-term failure in 2012.
They have broken their picks down into two categories - Front runners and Dark Horses. The Newsweek list in order:
FRONT RUNNERS:
Haley Barbour - MS Governor and former RNC Chair. Party insider with lots of links to the money needed to run.
Mike Huckabee - Former Arkansas governor and now radio commentator.
Bobby Jindal - Louisiana Governor
Sarah Palin - Former AK Governor, author and media darling
Tim Pawlenty: MN Governor
Mitt Romney: Former Massachusetts Governor
DARK HORSES:
Jeb Bush - Former Florida Governor and brother of the shrub
Dick Cheney - former Vice President
Newt Gingrich - GOP Intellectual without portfolio
Jon Huntsman - former Utah Governor and now US Ambassador to China with the Obama administration
Paul Ryan - WI Congressman and lately claiming to be a fiscal savior via "reform" of entitlement programs
Rick Santorum - Former PA Senator and seemingly trying to return from the Dead.
John Thune - Senator South Dakota
My own opinion.....I don't think there's a front runner in the bunch....every one of them has serious flaws.
Barbour....political insider and involved in enough shady stuff (particularly the use of Katrina relief funds for state casinos) that the spotlight might not be healthy.
Huckabee...appeals to the right wing but not enough base for a national run.
Jindal...I have no idea why Newsweek thinks Jindal is in the front runner category. I don't even see him as a dark horse. Killed himself with his response speech to Obama in the campaign.
Palin...first, I don't think her own plans call for a run. I think she is just running in the spotlight as long as she can to make as much money as she can. She has already shown that she gets bored easily in the job and worse yet is a disaster in dealing with real press interviews. If the GOP has any brains left (always a question these days) I can't imagine their believing she would ever be a viable standard bearer or worse yet a President.
Pawlenty...might have been earlier, but already seems to be failing and has been so busy trying to court the Tea Bag vote that he is losing credibility with the independents he would need to even hope to compete.
Romney....Mitt is a survivor and has the added attraction of good looks and a seemingly sound resume of business and government. But he has never been able to assemble enough voters to gain national office and could easily be seen as past his prime in another run.
Jeb Bush.....he has an anchor around his neck and it is the word Bush....and I really don't think he is all that interested any more. He would have been the better choice of the two to be President earlier, but then Cheney would never have had the malleable schnook he needed to accomplish his attempted destruction of the Constitution.
Dick Cheney....the only valid description is "Dark." The wingnut fringe would love him, but his approval ratings alone again raise the question of why Newsweek even considered him a possible contender. Not a chance....even if he managed to live long enough, given his heart problems.
Newt Gingrich....marital disasters, shutting down Congress, and an image as an intellectual that is about 3 inches deep. He'd be an awful President and much prefers being continually mentioned and looked upon as an elder statesman while raking in big bucks for "think tank" operations.
John Huntsman....can't really say. Has had a reasonable reputation as Governor of Utah, but lots of people look at Utah as its own country. Not well known but money can always erase that problem.
Paul Ryan...seen as a rising star, but running on the platform of "reforming" Social Security and Medicare through privatization went nowhere under bush and less likely now given the public's acute sensitivity to the risks of the market, especially given Wall Street's shenanigans.
Rick Santorum....Is he still around? He had enough problems in his Senate run and lost big time. How is he going to build a national following?
John Thune....South Dakota....one electoral vote....hardly a good starting point for a favorite son when you need every EV you can lay your hands on.
Whoever wins will be saddled with the inherent problems of the GOP...
Increasingly fragmented ideologically between the party and Tea Baggers,
No credible platform to run on except opposition to everything and don't raise taxes,
Policies clearly opposed to the common man from health care reform to equal pay, to education loans, credit cards, Wall Street controls, immigration, and gay rights.
Where are the coalitions they will need to form a national majority? Minorities, women, independents, youth....you name it, they've pissed them off. Not a good starting place for a party or anyone wanting to be their presidential candidate.
Who do YOU think will be the choice and if the Newsweek list doesn't produce a viable name, who do you think will win the nod? Liz Cheney, Scott Brown, Eric Cantor, Mark Sanford, David Vitter? The possibilies are endless.