When are people gonna admit that the MOST conservative person is not always the best candidate for the GOP.
If that were true, Pat Buchanan would have easily defeated Bush the father.
And Buchanan would have won over Bob Dole.
And Barry Goldwater would have defeated Lyndon Johnson.
It takes MUCH more than just being a hard-line conservative to win over the trust of the public.
Voters want to LIKE their candidate for President.
They want to believe that a candidate understands and empathizes with the vast portion of the population.
People want to trust their preferred candidate.
Duncan Hunter was certainly the strongest conservative, but his personality was just too dour and not-likable.
As for Fred, people didn't think he had enough energy and stamina to do the job of president.
That's another way of saying that people think (as did I) that Fred is past his prime, and would not be able to handle the rigors of the Presidency.
McCain is older, 6 long years, and a whole lot less likeable as well. Romney is about 5 years younger than Thompson, while Huckabee is a realive baby born 8 years after Romney. (making him almost 6 years younger than me).