[rightistight]

A nice, long debate this Friday afternoon

[Gadsden1st]

Palin! I love the sound of Democrat heads exploding in the morning.

[Tennessee Nana]

Mitt Romney -

Must you do this during lunch ???

[warpsmith]

Palin/Petraeus or Palin/DeMint. Very nice.

[ClearCase_guy]

Bush and Romney are absolute suicide for the GOP. Anyone with half a brain should see that.

[BigEdLB]

Jindal, Petraeus, Bolton, Newt, Christie

[devere]

Palin, De Mint, Barbour, Jindal, Thune

[Logic n' Reason]

I've asked my "un-named sources" within the ranks of the true blue RINOS and here are the top five!

McLoser
Rom-knee
Ging-rich
Huk-a-bee
and Jewel-ee-on-ee!

With the "Grand Architect" Tokyo Rove in command.

We're sure winners, ain't we??

/sarcasm off

[KoRn]

Run FRed run!!!!!

[Slyfox]

Let's do that Arizona-Alaska thing again...

Palin and Arpaio

[Diogenesis]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2591046/posts

[exit82]

#1 Palin

#2-#5 Palin.

Any questions?

[Caipirabob]

Mitt Romney + Highly competent manager, economic expert, previous runner-up, looks and acts presidential - Too good-looking by half, dull on the stump, hiding/laying low while waiting his turn, mostly absent from today's battle for the future of the nation... disappointing, where's some courage and sense of urgency here? The tipping-point is now, not two years too late...

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” - George Santayana

Only a damned fool or deathcare alcolyte would support mittcare romney and expect anything less than full blown socialism.

[Walts Ice Pick]

Palin in 2012!

Newty and Rudy have disqualified themselves on moral grounds. Neither is genuinely a conservative.

I don't think the country is ready yet to try another Bush.

Mitt will have problem convincing voters that he is a real Christian, he will not be able to explain his creation of socialist medicine in Massachusetts, he has been pro-abortion in the past and he is probably for gay marriage now.

Beck wants to be on TV more often than presidents are given air time.

Palin now has the experience and stature to win it all in 2012.

[csmusaret]

Mitch Daniels maybe..http://politics.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/barone/2008/12/09/mitch-daniels-for-president-in-2012.html

[OldDeckHand]

Barbour, DeMint, Thune - probably in that order, and only because DeMint has no executive experience.

If I had a gun to my head, I could probably vote for Pawlenty.

Christie and McDonnell aren't going to have enough time in service for this next go-round, but they look great for 2016, should things not go well in 2012.

Jindal is probably on everyone's short list for VP because he's smart, he's been a successful governor and he's a minority. It's too bad he has ZERO charisma, which is why he's relegated to the No.2 spot.

[upsdriver]

David Petraeus? Does anyone know where he stands on any particular issue?

[ScottinVA]

My top 5 choices:

1. Jim DeMint - Strong across the conservative board. Clearly is taking charge of the rebellion within the Senate. Willing to take risks to further the conservative cause, but usually comes out stronger for it.

2. Mike Pence - Sharp, aggressive and well-tuned conservative Rep.

3. Sarah Palin - Strong conservative, absolutely fearless. The most charismatic of all in my book.. someone who can fill stadiums.

4. Michele Bachmann - Like Palin, a fearless, powerful conservative voice, a very sharp political infighter.

5. Paul Ryan - Brilliant mind, especially on fiscal issues. Very analytical and thoughtful in the arguments. Doesn't let emotion take hold.

The Reserve Bench (looking to the future):

1. Bobby Jindal -- Brilliant, absolutely shines especially in a crisis. Still quite young at 38; wisely building executive experience. Bombed in speech in 2009, but was hamstrung by glowing adoration for 0bama at the time.

2. Chris Christie -- Has said he's not interested in the Presidency, but his kick-ass approach is a plus in my book. Maybe after a term as NJ's governor and a drop of some 100 pounds, he may show some interest in running after all. I need better insights into his social stances, but on fiscal matters, he's formidable.

3. Bob McDonnell -- as Governor of VA, has done a stalwart job of bringing the fiscal situation under control. He pushed for, and got, a lot of needed budget cuts. A good leader, and a deceptively great presence. He could position himself for 2016 if he so desires.

Not making the cut:

1. Tim Pawlenty -- always late in coming around to an issue. Comes across as a weak-kneed, finger-in-the-wind politician. Aside from the fact he's bought into Globull Warming, it's somewhat hard to tell exactly what he stands for.

2. Mike Huckabee -- has a few strong points, but is weak on immigration issues... also the fact he early-released that murderer tells me he's too much of a bleeding heart.

3. Mitt Romney -- Strong presence, but comes across as untrustworthy, as he's flip-flopped on several issues. His Mormon religion is a turn-off to many.

4. Newt Gingrich -- Though he's a "no," his presence in the primary debates will force his GOP competitors to bring their "A" game. He's a brilliant strategic thinker, but has wayyyyyy too much baggage and tendency to "reach to the other side."

5. George Pataki Uh, no. To liberal.. a history of a gun grabber.

6. Jeb Bush Has a few upsides, but... no more Bushes. Been there and done it.. twice.

[ken5050]

While there is much to commend Petraeus, the problem is ( assumign that he wanted to run ) that he’d have to resign from the Army by year’s end, and he would be portrayed as quitting and abandoning the troops in Afghanistan..

[Egregious Philbin]

Rephrase the question - Who Are Your Top Five Viable Republican Choices for President 2012? - and the answer is most likely None of the Above.

Petraeus could be viable in the future, but wouldn't it be something more than tacky to campaign while you are leading a war? Worse yet would be to give up his post - incidentally, one of the many things that will doom Palin. And she, like Romney or Huckabee or Bush, have to answer for their long time away from elected office. Romney has way too much explaining to do, period!

A governor is most likely, so perhaps Pawlenty or Christie, though the former's lack of fire has been noted.

[b4its2late]

Romney needs to just go away.