I think Jim DeMint is great, too, but he's repeatedly said that he's not running for president. I have to take him at his word, given that he doesn't even have a whisper of any sort of campaign organization attached to him.
He's also late to the runway. Others are already climbing to cruising altitude, while he's still parked in the hangar. Simple analogy, but I think it makes my point.
Lastly, every Senator we've run as our nominee has failed, since I don't remember when. Republicans (and Americans in general) tend to get behind candidates who are former VPs, or those who have some sort of executive experience, i.e., ex-Governors.
Dems, on the other hand, seem to have a penchant for supporting non-executives and former Senators for president (Kennedy, Obama). Although they both won, neither Kennedy or Obama ran against an incumbent president, which is a much harder race to win. Kennedy barely beat ex-VP Nixon (and many would say he didn't), and Obama ran against another Senator.
Unless Obama isn't in the 2012 race for some reason, our nominee will have to unseat an incumbent president. Yes, his approval rating is sinking by the month, so that may not be as difficult as it sounds, but I doubt that the people are going to want to send another Senator with little to no executive experience to the White House.
Given that the presidency is the most important CEO position on earth, I believe the 2012 race will be a battle waged between ex-Governors.
I guess we’ll see. So far, it’s Sarah against the mice, so it’s no-brainer for me - DEFINITELY SARAH in the Primaries. On the other hand, if DeMint runs and looks up to the task, or if Inhofe, or some other solid conservative runs, then I will have to make a call. I’m simply not convinced that she is the best Republican out there, even if she is miles ahead of the clowns are that think they have a chance.