My list in no particular order:
Paul Ryan
Mike Pence
John Thune
Jim Demint
Scott Brown (maybe)
Tim Pawlenty
Haley Barbour
Bobby Jindal
Mitch Daniels
Sarah Palin
Mitt Romney
My favorites are Paul Ryan (he probably won’t run in 2012, he’s only 39) and Mitch Daniels
Of that list, Romney (a make believe Conservative who was pro-abortion, pro-gay, pro-illegal immigrant, and anti-gun, until he magically changed posistions just in time for the 2008 primaries, and who still supports his verion of Obamacare) is TOTALLY unacceptable.
The same goes for Brown. I am pleased to have any GOP Senator from liberal Massachussets, but he does not even pretend to be pro-life and is well to the left of RINOs like McCain and Graham. He should not be considered for any leadership role in the GOP, much less a spot on the 2012 ticket.
If Brown or Romney is our nominee, I will vote 3rd party.
The others are all acceptable to me, with Palin being my favorite, followed by Demint, then Pence.
Pretty good list, but I haven’t given up on Duncan Hunter. I’d love to see any of these people debate 0 and eat his lunch. I don’t think 0 could last 5 minutes with most of the people on that list before he is exposed as a bumbling liar, hypocrite, phony socialist.
One might ask: so why didn’t that happen with McCain? After all, McCain can do pretty well on his feet. Well, the simple answer is, 0 had no record, only grandiose rhetoric. It’s hard to argue against grandiose rhetoric because the most you can really say is “aw, c’mon, you don’t really mean all those noble and courageous things you’re saying”. Not a lot of bite there. But when you can confront him with his record, after a term in office, and show how he lied in virtually every campaign promise, how he dithered and bungled virtually every policy decision and how his administration was filled with kooks, radicals and lobbyists, that’s a whole different kettle of fish.
I don’t think 0 has ever faced the test of really being verbally ripped to shreds; he’s always been carefully protected, not only by handlers, but by the media that was supposed to be covering him. I don’t think he’ll hold up well at all.