It’s a Washington Post list, calm down.
Its a Post hit list.
Of course, they are the same paper who told us that Rudy McRomney were the only viable candidates last time. And the idiot GOP primary voters believed them
LOL
10. John Cornyn: The head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee has quietly put Senate GOPers in position to benefit if the national political environment goes south on Democrats. Cornyn has recruited serious candidates in Democratic-held seats in Illinois, Colorado and Connecticut, and still may land top tier recruits in North Dakota and Delaware. With seven open seats to defend, Cornyn understands that he must play offense in a few states if he hopes to position the party to make major gains in the 2012 and 2014 cycles — both of which, by the numbers, are far more favorable for Republicans. (Previous ranking: 8)
9. Sarah Palin: The former governor of Alaska has been very quiet of late — except for the occasional comment issued via her Facebook page. Palin’s decision to skip this weekend’s Values Voter Summit — where she would have been given a rock star’s reception — is the latest piece of evidence that those who believe a presidential run is inevitable are sorely mistaken. Regardless of her future political plans, Palin could do for a few more months outside of the spotlight. (Previous ranking: 2)
8. Mitch Daniels: Daniels, the governor of Indiana, would be far higher on this list if he had given something short of the airtight “I will not run” pronouncement regarding 2012. Despite that pledge, Daniels’ reform-minded populist approach to government is already sparking imitators (see state Sen. Josh Penry in Colorado) and is the direction in which many GOP strategists believe the party must move to have a chance against President Obama in 2012. Watch to see if some sort of “Draft Daniels” effort emerges and whether the governor dismisses a run out of hand or looks for a way to hedge on his past promise. (Previous ranking: N/A)
7. Mike Huckabee: The army of Huckabee supporters have carped for months that we are overlooking the former Arkansas governor’s influence within the party. Maybe. Huckabee clearly has a somewhat large group of loyal and active supporters and retains significant name ID — as evidenced by his showing in national polls testing 2012 matchups — from his 2008 candidacy. The less Palin looks like a candidate (and she is nowhere to be found at the moment), the more Huckabee benefits; without Palin, Huckabee is THE voice of social conservatives in this country. (Previous ranking: N/A)
6. John Boehner/Mitch McConnell: The Republican leaders of the House and Senate, respectively, deserve credit for how they’ve dealt with the difficulties of being the minority party. Recognizing that there is little they can do legislatively, Boehner and McConnell have focused on counter-punching against proposals made by the White House. And, due in no small part to the smallness of their respective conferences, Boehner and McConnell have been able to keep the GOP in near-unified opposition to the president’s major proposals. (Previous rankings: Boehner 10, McConnell 9)
5. Michael Steele: When no one was looking, the chairman of the Republican National Committee suddenly became relevant again. Steele has kept his occasionally erratic media personality in check of late and, as a result, has turned into one of the party’s better communicators. Steele’s pushback on the allegations of racism made by former President Jimmy Carter was well timed and kept the story alive. Perhaps most surprisingly, Steele’s RNC continues to be solid on the fundraising front. The committee has raised $52 million this year and just announced that it would drop $7 million into the Virginia governor’s race. (Previous ranking: N/A)
4. Newt Gingrich: For anyone who thought Gingrich didn’t have an eye on a national run, the $8 million he raised in the first half of the year through his American Solutions 527 group or the new Hispanic-oriented website he has started should dispel those notions. Gingrich remains the biggest brain and best ideas guy on the Republican side but his personal baggage may be too much for him to be a real factor in his own right in 2012. Regardless of his presidential plans, Gingrich is and will continue to be one of the prime players in the ongoing message debate within the party. (Previous ranking: 7)
3. Haley Barbour: While most people in Washington are focused on the battle for the House and Senate in 2010, the 39 governors race on the ballot between now and next November are by far the most critical contests in terms of the long term futures of the two parties. Barbour, the head of the Republican Governors Association, is tasked with recruiting and funding those races. He has already shown impressive results — putting top tier recruits in places like Nevada, Wisconsin and Iowa (assuming former Gov. Terry Branstad runs) among others. Talk of a Barbour 2012 run has died down in a bow to political reality. (Previous ranking: 5)
2. Tim Pawlenty: Give Tpaw credit — he recognized that he had to quickly get moving if he wanted to emerge as a national leader, and he has done just that. Pawlenty has been somewhere close to ever-present on cable chat shows and has generally weighed in on national issues with gravity and smarts. (His decision to suspend any expenditure of state dollars to ACORN backfired a bit when Minnesota’s ACORN representative said the organization didn’t get any state cash.) Pawlenty has a prime speaking spot at the Values Voters Summit tomorrow night; if he does well, expect the buzz factor on him to rise. (Previous ranking: 6)
1. Mitt Romney: No one in the Republican party at the moment can match Romney’s motor. The guy is simply everywhere. During Romney’s visit to Washington this weekend, he will address the Value Voters Summit in Washington on Saturday, raise money for his Free and Strong America PAC and collect cash for — among others — former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who is running for governor, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, and Republican consultant Barbara Comstock who is seeking to unseat a Democratic state legislator in McLean. Couple that packed calendar with the favorable reviews Massachusetts residents are giving to the health care plan Romney signed into law as governor and you see why Romney continues to hold the top slot on the Line. (Previous ranking: 1)