Where are Republican Presidential Candidates?

Where are the Republican presidential candidates? Yeah, I mean the real ones. Honestly, Sarah Palin? Mike Huckabee? Newt Gingrich? Mitt Romney? Can’t they do any better than that?

Palin vs. Obama would be a landslide no matter how low Obama’s poll numbers are. Same if it is Huckabee or Gingrich. I would have thought Romney had a chance last time around, but somehow he let John McCain beat him in the primary. Republicans have a history of giving the next guy in line his chance, and that would be a toss up to determine who that next guy (or gal) is. Palin could stake her claim since she was on the ticket last time. Romney and Huckabee could stake theirs since they were essentially co-runners up in the primary last time. Gingrich has no claim.

Politically, Romney is the only one moderate enough to sway independents. Palin and Gingrich are lightning rods, while Huckabee is simply too conservative.

Hopefully, the field will widen out, and a candidate will come out of nowhere for the Republicans much like Bill Clinton did for the Democrats in 1992. The conditions are somewhat similar, with the economy, real estate and banking troubles and continued war in the Middle East. The country will want a change at the top, someone different. George H.W. Bush was the man in charge then, and he is the only one-term president we have had in the last 30 years. Hopefully, Obama will be the next, but it will likely take a very appealing candidate, rather than the current Republican re-treads, to do the job.