I see no credible canadates.Trump is making a lot of noise.GOOD FOR HIM.Wecan’t pick McCain he has too much baggage.We need someone who reverse change and hope to letus alone.republicans always worry me.Wishy Washy is the words that come to mind.this is going to be diffucult election.welfare people,eldely,free loader of every stripe are afraid of losing thier benefits.Thier seem to be more of them then us.

about the prospect of a first term New Jersey Governor in the White House.

Oh well. As long as he isn’t from Arkansas.

not much substance.The Repub. field is mighty thin with no one stepping forward to take up the banner.The thing is wide open at present with Romney the apparent front runner.As far fetched as it might currently seem—–Trump would probably make one damn good president but too many voters are likely afraid of his gun-slinger approach—-personally,I could live with him,mostly because he likely says what he means and means what he says.

no one ever mentions Herman Cain. Is there something about him I don’t know?

As far as those who have been named as “possibilities”, I believe “we got nothin” and that is REAL scary.

The major reason Trump is gaining traction is because of his message. I’ve always considered him an annoying showboater but when I heard him on the Laura Ingraham show I started to cheer. His comments about our disgraceful China trade policy( don’t you dare call it free trade) is one that no other potential candidate has the guts to say. It is an especially potent message when you consider that the GOP along with Obama has been horrible on this issue. Even Larry Kudlow is coming around on this one. Trump also has the guts to bring up issues such as Rezko and call the President a disaster. Americans are sick of being lectured about Smoot-Hawley as they watch our industrial base being destroyed by unfettered mercantilism and intellectual piracy.

I love Erick and Redstate but I think there is a serious disconnect if he and others believe that Trumps flamboyancy is his major appeal. I realize that he is a deeply flawed candidate which is why I am praying that other potential candidates get a clue.

a candidate for SC GOP Chairman Tuesday if anyone was holding a gun to Jim DeMint’s head and “asking” him to get in the race. A proven track record without drawing the missiles from the howling monkeys on the left. A man the GOP establishment don’t know how to deal with because they never met a Statesman, just a long line of politicians.

Look in the Tea Party dictionary under “statesman” and you will see a picture of Sen. Jim DeMint.

why Herman Cain is not getting more attention and support. His message is much the same as Trumps, but without the social issue negatives. Trump should drop out and throw all his money and support behind Cain…he could actually win.As to the Muslim issue…he tells the truth and the American people know it.

needs to get New Jersey straightened out. I grew up there and they are in a mess. When he gets the state more solvent, he should consider a run. But he has to have a record of accomplishments.

Mitt Romney is ahead in NH because there are a bunch of country club Republicans up here. But the Tea Party people are starting to make inroads. But if he is the Repub nominee, we have Pres Obama for the next 4 years.

. Donald Trump says some good things, but I think he should run for Mayor of NYC. Save it from Anthony Weiner who is considering a run.

I like Herman Cain. He’s been on Laura Ingraham’s show and I’ve heard him on another talk show. Amazing man. Tells it like it is. He’s been up here in NH and was a hit. Very well received.

Where does is say we have to have an ensconced politician to run for the presidency?

http://politicalqrm.com

So. let me get this straight.

The answer for our lack of a charismatic candidate is Mike Pence or Jim Demint? Ugh. Love those guys but charismatic? Uh, no.

I am still hopeful that our leader hasn’t emerged yet. But Trump is simply filling the void left by HuckabeeGingrichPalinPawlentySantorumCainBachman(none of whom can win by the way).

I know noone ants to even think about this truth but it will take a very, very good candidate to beat the O blah, blah, blah, ma.

So. let me get this straight.

The answer for our lack of a charismatic candidate is Mike Pence or Jim Demint? Ugh. Love those guys but charismatic? Uh, no.

I am still hopeful that our leader hasn’t emerged yet. But Trump is simply filling the void left by HuckabeeGingrichPalinPawlentySantorumCainBachman(none of whom can win by the way).

I know noone ants to even think about this truth but it will take a very, very good candidate to beat the O blah, blah, blah, ma.

why none of them want to run… who wants Code Pink protesting at the end of their driveway every day… who wants the left/commie press screaming about every aspect of their personal lives on a daily basis….lunatic-lefties hanging them in effigy and going after their children? They all watched what was done to Bush for 8 years and aren’t exactly in a hurry to sign themselves up for the same treatment and I can’t really blame them. My hope/prayer would lie with Perry deciding he would be willing to take one for the team.

it is refreshing to hear someone who is so anti-PC as Trump is. Say what you will about him, but he probably makes the Saudis, as well as Dems tremble when he speaks.

The depressing part is that if he got elected, nearly everyone in the beltway would be against him, regardless of party. Just ask Paul, Lee or Rubio. They probably exected only about half of the Senate would be against them. Instead they have only a half-dozen who think as they do.

A problem with a Trump candidacy is that few, if anyone, knows where he actually stands on the political spectrum. We don’t know if he is generally a Conservative, or really a Lib with some conservative tendencies.

I’ll admit I haven’t been paying attention to Trump, there have been too many years of “celebrity” coverage of him. I don’t know where he stands on individual freedom, abortion, the 2d Amendment, etc., etc. He may be “good” on business, but I don’t even know if that is truly the case – or if he actually favors crony capitalism.

At this point we are just starting the election season (it seems to start earlier and earlier), so not having a “front runner” isn’t surprising. The lack of candidates which Conservatives can be excited about is disconcerting. We can only hope that will change soon.

As commented upon, people pushing Christie likely don’t even know what he stands for across the Conservative spectrum of issues. My impression is that he is fairly typical of Republicans in the NY Combined Statistical Area (or at least a somewhat expanded CSA which includes more of NJ and CT), fiscally fairly conservative but socially fairly liberal. As a limited example, I don’t believe Christie is “good” on the 2d Amendment at all. He was faced with the recent case of the kid who made a good faith effort to find the facts of the NJ firearms laws. Christie could have issued a pardon, thus restoring the kid to a status of not being a convicted felon as well as not being in prison. Christie chose a commutation, which put the kid out of prison and still facing life as a convicted felon (unless there is an appeal still pending which results in overturning the conviction, perhaps somewhat less likely now that his sentence is commuted) and losing his 2d Amendment rights. Of course I have a similar problem with George Bush and commuting Scooter Libby instead of pardoning him. But W never was a Conservative, he was just far, far better than the alternatives (did I put enough far’s in there?).

Just my $0.02 (soon to be $2.00 with the coming inflation).

have no one else with the chutzpah and tenacity to go after Obama and make a real campaign.

He would surely not be perfect, but he has mucho exec. experienve, great name recognition, is not afraid of the camera, and can be self deprecating about himself and his hair, which is an indication that even with his ego, he has some rational balance in his character.

And I doubt he would off campaigning duing serious budget negotiations or off vacationing during serious national disaster like the BP leak.

Lead on, kindly light.

[Kids: I know that some of you Big Labor folks were hoping for a ten-point blowout, but you didn't get it. You got a dead heat and a couple months' worth of recounts - and labor union reform bills in multiple states. Blame your own side's poor organizational skills. - ML]

If he wasn’t at least in second place right now, he should just give up.

Things are still very early. None of the major competitors want to be first in the ring and thus become yesterday’s news. The analogy here is how Richard Nixon held off campaigning in New Hampshire until about a month before the primary there; when he finally showed, he was the fresh face that everyone was excited about, and it paid off for him.

The campaign not really starting yet is a good thing– because it means that it isn’t going to be as long (and thus as wearying) as last time. Last time we had both parties nominating someone, so people that got sick of the endless campaign were annoyed at both sides. This time, it’s just us; we don’t want people to be burned out about presidential campaigning any more than we have to.

We don’t need Pence or Christie; they’re both doing a bang-up job right where they’re at. We’ll find our candidate soon enough.

I’ve read some credible articles discussing Trumps propensity to bring attention to himself, ego and all. It doesn’t mean he is necessarily going to run. If he does, it’s all about the power.

Trump has “crossed the aisle” with donations to aid Donald Trump. Would he be such an aisle crosser, ala John McCain, at the expense of the US Constitution? Is Trump all fluff and bluster?

The regular political class fears one thing in running against incumbent Obama – MONEY! Obama is already out campaigning, doing what he enjoys best while ignoring the problems at hand, Obama is busy filling his coffers. We’ve heard up to $1 Billion dollars to get reelected.

Will the unions and Hollywood push Obama across the finish line? Will the “independents” choose fools gold instead of the real thing?

Is this Déjà Vu all over again? I’m holding my breath waiting for a credible candidate to make a stand.

not a dime, not a minute of my time
after that, the current field is a big yawn.
Is the GOP trying a replay of 2008? The man who lost to McCain is the establishment choice?
maybe, just maybe, this is some great grand strategy. The GOP knows that the budget and economy is unsustainable, but the public by and large have not yet reached critical mass to take the kind of action to solve the problems, so they’ll give the Dems 2012 to really run the country into ground and then come back strong in 2016?

I’m tired of the “Palin can’t win,” “Cain can’t win,” “Bachmann can’t win,” … “[name of asny real Conservative here] can’t win” crowd.

The only reason they “can’t win” is because people don’t stand up for them and hide behind a fictitious “can’t win” banner.

I am floored when I see conservatives supporting a man who supported Hillary in 2008… a man who has said for years that he is a liberal on health care and that he supports “universal” health care.” There is information out there about Trump’s political statements in the past; it’s just that no one seems to be bothering to do the research. I feel like I am in an alternate universe. A liberal steps in and calls himself a conservative, and oodles of conservatives are willing to take him at his word, even though everything in his past contradicts what he is saying now. The man sent Pelosi a letter telling her, “You are the best, ” when she became Speaker of the House. He told Wolf Blitzer that the economy does better under dems (and that he considers himself a dem)… Blitzer actually had to remind him of Jimmy Carter. The majority of Trump’s political donations have gone to very liberal dems (and when he did donate to republicans, they were Arlen Spector, Charlie Crist, etc.)

I would take Cain or Pawlenty any day over Mr. Trump. Cain is self-made. Trump inherited his dad’s money, and still has had to declare bankruptcy a couple of times on his ventures. Cain has saved a company from bankruptcy… and turned the worst performing district into the best performing district for another company. Cain has always been a conservative. We are supposed to be a party of principles, but it seems to me that many on the right are just as susceptible to “personality” as those on the left.

When asked by Human Events about our deficit, Trump said nothing about cutting spending. He said that he would pressure countries who owe us money to pay up, and that would solve everything. Yeah. I guess we aren’t severely in debt ourselves to China. The man makes no sense, and his positions are not based on conservative principles. Why is he polling well?

I do hope someone else (like Allen West, Paul Ryan, etc.) will jump in. Christie is not my top choice, as I am not assured he would be strong on the War on Terror.

in 1776, we see that America had produced a handful of geniuses and probably more than a dozen near-geniuses with the virtuousness and desire to lead a revolution against England.

We should therefore in theory, with c. 300 million people, have over a 100 possibilities to lead America in this time of mass stupidity.

But perhaps we do not, because of the last 6 words in the previous sentence. 60 years of socialized schooling, of solipsism, of videoism, of welfarism, of hedonism, etc. etc. etc. may have had their effect.

The worst thing that could happen to this country would be for a RINO to be elected Pres. I would much rather have a strongly conservative House and Senate and Pinko Dem preasident. Now, Mike Pence would be an incredibly wonderful choice for Pres.

The worst thing that could happen to this country would be for a RINO to be elected Pres. I would much rather have a strongly conservative House and Senate and Pinko Dem preasident. Now, Mike Pence would be an incredibly wonderful choice for Pres.

Conservatives have no patience for a field to develop and strong candidates to emerge. The same people who thought that Huckabee was weak are now some of his strongest supporters now that they know him. Many of our candidates in waiting due to the way the fundraising apparatus works from a legal perspective are fresh faces and not widely know by those outside the political junkie circles. We have the tendency to eat our own straight out of the chute. We let the media attacks such as the unfounded claims that Bachman is totally out to lunch define our views of our own candidates. whether those claims are grounded in fact or not. The prime example of this is Haley Barbour. He has been one of the most successful governors and had broad knowledge and experience. We are sidelined by the Southern drawl ridiculed by the media. However, having know him for many years and seen him in action I know that he would be a strong candidate and Obama would be humiliated in a debate with him. Barbour would crush him. We need to be planting our crops now, not harvesting!!! So get off of this bandwagon of whining and complaining about the field and feeding in to exactly what the media want us to do. We have good candidates already and more will likely emerge and the ones that we already are eying will strengthen as everyone gets to know their views and see them perform on the stump. The game has not even started and half of you on this forum are ready to surrender and do nothing but whine.like spoiled brats. Most of you are violating one of Reagan’s maximums of never speaking ill of a fellow Republican. Also consider the energy that might come from a fresh face in the second spot such as a Rubio fro example. There are many roads to travel before we choose our nominee. Let out method of choosing our nominee work and I think we will do just fine this time around. Concentrateon pointing out that this president is like a deer in the headlights. He is in over his head. We have been told that he is the smartest person in the world but yet he has hidden his transcripts. Harvard Law review had little to do with Academic performance. There is no documentary evidence of such intelligence. He has all but admitted that he did not perform well at Occidental so his acceptance to Harvard was clearly not earned. Sure he can speak and filibuster when questioned but that does not correlate with intelligence. And do not forget about that rocket scientist Joe Biden!

to beat Obama. All we need is aggression. I could be come President. Just put me on the TV everyday saying “Mr. President, show us your papers!” Until he does I’ll become a very famous person. Once he does he is through. For heaven sakes. How hard can it be to beat a sorry sack of Obama.

Dear Bcomber

You think McCain has baggage? Wait until more comes out about Trump. It’ll make Newt look like a puritan.

this is still way to early, and the real candidates (with the exception of Romeny) are not even known yet to the general public. Thats why you get these crazy polls. As to wheater or not our GOP candidates will end up being “blah” or not only time will tell. Lets give them (Barbour, Daniels, Pawlenty, Hutsnman….) and chance to establish themsleves.

Trump has a colorful personality and knows how to market himself and companies. He is saying things that conservatives want to hear. He also has the uncanny ability to say outrageous things and not cause firestorm. Imagine if Romney, Huck, T-Paw, or Palin said the same things Trump said about Obama’s birth. Trump seems to have a telfon quality that many Republicans lack. Perhaps the telfon quality of Trump merits a second look at Trump.

I contend that the 2012 primary is wide open that anything can happen.

Bachmann could win Iowa (esp. if Huck & Palin pass on 2012), thereby ruining T-Paw. Trump could outspend Romney in places like NH, NV, and FL. Thus Super Tuesday could feature a match up between Bachmann vs Trump. Its not so far fetched as it seems.

Trump is a patent buffoon, and takes every possible opportunity to prove it when he opens his mouth. The guy is a centrist, at best. Moreover, he’s an extremely stupid centrist staking out positions that appeal to the public but which are breathtakingly counterproductive (see his garbage about trade policy). If he got elected, it would just prove HL Mencken right about everything he said about democracy.

in the 2012 GOP primaries!

I love Pence, but Christie is a closet liberal. I think Palin would be great but shes clearly not running so I’ve got to go with BAchmann

Analyses of the WI supreme court election are confirming what I had been pointing to earlier in my comments here. Relative to the 2010 midterms, WI Blue-collar “Reagan Democrat” type Dems and Indies switched sides back to voting Democratic, likely as a fallout of the Walker vs public unions tussle.

Mike Huckabee has the unique background and ability to bring such voters back to the Republican fold, without sounding like a buffoon or a blowhard as Trump often does.

The FDU poll which showed Huckabee doing the best in GE vis-a-vis Obama (Huck 46%, Obama 46%, but Huck should be ahead in the electoral college math) is real.

A Huckabee/Pawlenty or Huckabee/Jindal ticket would get 325-375 electoral votes or higher send Obama/Biden packing (Obama can go back to being a “Community Organizer” or a “Senior Lecturer,” and Biden back to yackity yack bloviating!)

He spoke at a YAF rally on the capital lawn and sounded more presidential than any of the presidential candidates whose names have been tossed around. He has an ability to attack issues rather than people which keeps him above the fray and which I think would really appeal to the all-important independents. He is solidly, uncompromisingly conservative without sounding extreme. Who else can do this???

I suspect concerns about fundraising figured in his decision not to run. How about this: Pence/Bachman on a GOP/Tea Party caucus ticket. Bachman has already raised a boatload of money. She could add the sparkle to Pence’s seriousness and also add the “edge” to criticism of Obama while Pence remains presidential-looking.

I know, I know, nobody’s been elected from the House since the Dark Ages, but a black man had never been elected president before either, so I think all bets are off on this one. Members of the House are showing themselves to be the movers and shakers in the country, while Senate members are looking more and more irrelevant. Harry Reid is the face of the senate and who wants that?

I agree with Erick that Pence should reconsider – for the good of the country. Christie….not so much. In fact, not at all.

I’ve been thin king the same thing since pence announced he wasn’t running.

Mr. Trump might be a successful businessman, but look at his private life. If we thought Bill Clinton was bad…..
If I’m going to vote for a President based on CEO experience, give me Herman Cain!

Also, you guys need to be looking at some SUCCESSFUL former governors: Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels. Mr. Pawlenty served 2 terms with Democrat run legislature and succeeded in cutting spending in his state. Mr. Daniels has cut spending, and his “no moral issues” statement has been blown out of proportion. Haley Barbour and Rick Perry are worth looking at, too! They have good 10th Amendment actions behind them, especially Rick Perry.

Mr. Christie is newsworthy, and doing some good things, but on moral issues is not conservative. Mr. Pence, whom I think is absolutely great, has no executive experience. I sure hope he’s planning to get some.

We need to think big picture here. We need more conservatives in Congress, and a President who understands Constitutional restraint. And we need that for 2016, 2020, 2024, etc. We must not be getting into personalities. A personality ran in 2008, and he won. And we have been suffering the consequences ever since.

We need to think morally and virtuously. We need to be moral and virtuous, and elect moral and virtuous people into our government. Anything else is just postponing the complete downfall of The United States.

level but he has the right skills, education and knows how to say what needs to be done and debate the media no matter how snarky. Now Obama didn’t have executive experience so that puts Christy on the same field as former candidate Obama so we could go wrong. I do not believe Christy could be drafted into running so its best for people to continue to ask him because it gives the left all the reason to say the GOP has no front runner which is true but the party is looking for someting that hasn’t emerged in one person but that shall soon. Maybe Trump is the man?

Trump has similar skills with only corporate executive experience but his image is slightly tarnished because he’s the Hamburger Helper of Birthers and its best to drop it unless this is an act.

Trump was a democrat (small problem) after he abandoned the republicans, now he’s back and he has the right education and skills. Problem is he’s a little too arrogant right now and needs to walk it back because he bloviates non issues and suggests we should “TAKE” the oil from Iraq which is just talk to excite voters. Such Iraq talk would never lead to action because we’d end up in another war with Iraq and or other countries seeing the USA becoming the fascist aggressor. Or Congress would have to threaten to impeach Trump to stop such an action. Even though its talk, Trump is giving the Left ammo to take him on if he runs.

Okay, so whoever we have now we have now! They are already in front. Why do we talk about Christie if he said no! No means no I thought! So why waste time. I like Trump and watched him/Apprentice from the beginning except for lately. He is not a game player. He means what he says and says what he means. I wanted Romney last time but so many “Christians where so paranoid they didn’t want him to turn this country into Mormon! That was a lie and look who we ended up with! We will see! But I like how Trump is handling things right now! I will just need to see who ends up in the race and what each of them has to say!

IMO, we have several good candidates from which to choose. The problem, in my estimation, is that many conservatives are too focused on why they shouldn’t support this or that particular candidate rather than why they should.

And when you evaluate candidates that way, it’s easy to come to a conclusion of “none of the above” — because it’s easy to find fatal flaws in just about anybody…when that’s what you’re looking for.

Pence, Ryan, Christie….they aren’t running. Forget about them.

Let’s work on evaluating the candidates we do have….or else we’re going to find ourselves on the losing end of another election.

My guy is Daniels. Yes, I’m well aware of the conservative arguments against him — and, while I respect them, I ultimately reject them.

If Daniels doesn’t run, then I’m looking most closely at Pawlenty or Huntsman.

wou ld be good with his successful fight (so far) to make the teacher’s union more accountable. This is certainly a conservative stance (but Cuomo is copying him in New York, among his other “important” agenda of legalizing gay marriage. (What is so “gay” about gays anyway)?
Romney has the winning smile but he’s done a version of obamacare in Mass.
Huckabee is a traveling guitar player (traveling around the studio). He loves to strap on that guitar and be in a dream world of pseudo country people.

Trump, at least is telling it like it is, but I hope that he would keep his promises to make Iraq and Afghanistan pay for freeing millions of these clowns. In addition, “blowing the pirates out of the water” sounds very appealing to many of us. I would hope that it is filmed and played over and over again to the world, including algae zero for the mooselims.