Posted on 06/28/2011 5:11:04 AM PDT by ejdrapes
Jack Welch: Just 3 Serious GOP Presidential Contenders There are three real contenders in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to former General Electric chairman Jack Welch. He thinks Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman will top the GOP ticket in November 2012. “Each of them has their pluses and minuses,” Welch said. “Only time will tell over the next six months of grueling campaigning” who will emerge as the better leader. All are former governors. Pawlenty spent two terms in the Minnesota statehouse, where he was credited with tackling a $4.3 billion deficit. He has set an ambitious goal of boosting the US economy by 5 percent annually. His economic plan includes generous tax cuts for individuals and corporations and slashing government spending. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has pushed his business experience when attacking President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy. During his one term as governor, Romney says he eliminated a $3 billion deficit without borrowing or raising taxes. He has promised to cut taxes, reduce government bureaucracy and create jobs, as well as cap federal spending at 20 percent of gross domestic product. Huntsman, the last of the three to throw his hat into the ring, is the former governor or Utah and a former U.S. Ambassador to China. While he was the state’s chief executive, Utah was named by the Pew Center as the Best Managed State in America. The millionaire businessman has vowed to create jobs, streamline the tax code and work to keep the federal budget from being swallowed by entitlement programs and interest payments on national dept. If Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, enters the race, Welch would also count him as a viable candidate. Campaign promises aside, Welch said the most important thing the person occupying the White House needs to do is articulate a vision for the economy. “Show the country why the vision is worth it,” Welch said, “and equally important, what’s in it for everybody to do it.” That’s the bottom line of any business, and he thinks it applies to leading the country. “People need to know where they are going, why they are going there and what’s in it for them to go there,” he said. Right now, he doesn’t think the Obama Administration has shown the right leadership because it hasn’t clearly expressed where it wants to take the country. Instead, he thinks the administration has created a series of “piecemeal” initiatives that have created too much uncertainty. For one, he believes financial regulation is a good idea, but he doesn’t think the Dodd-Frank law or other laws that were written “in the back room somewhere” are the answer. He also thinks that for green energy to work, leaders need to invest in research and development while allowing drilling and power plant operations to continue. Two other “piecemeal” initiatives on Welch’s radar are multilateralism, which he said hasn’t helped the situation in Libya, and the health care law. He questioned how millions of people will be added to the government health care rolls without a tremendous cost to taxpayers. Welch was more sympathetic towards Ben Bernanke. He called the Federal Reserve chairman’s job “brutally tough.” Bernanke was a hero during the crisis, he said, and now he’s just trying to do what he can with the Fed to “keep things going.” But Welch does have his concerns. “The question is, is money too cheap for too long and what will be the downstream implications of this easy money policy…going forward?” he asked. As things stand now, we’re in the early stages of what would be a normal recovery, Welch said. But he emphasized the country has to have policies that “don’t scare us.” “We want to be the most innovative, competitive country in the world—creating jobs and better lives for everyone,” he said.
Published: Friday, 24 Jun 2011 | 11:52 AM ET Text Size By: Michelle Fox
I always believed Jack Welch was seriously overrated.
Jack lives in Connecticut and has an Apt. in Manhatten.
Oh yeah, Huntsman finishing about 8th in most of the polls makes him a shoo-in. LOL!
No, we're not.
When (if) Sarah Palin announces she is a candidate for President, this campaign will then become SERIOUS!
Is he getting ready to marry his boyfriend?
What else would one expect from a reliable old Democrat.
sorry, no cigar
What the hell has happened to jack welch.Just another out of touch lib.
This coming from the same bunch of elitists who gave us McCain.
Here we go again!
If he’s right, we’re doomed.
They better make it or the GE Subsidy train is over.
Pray for America
In the mean time, Conservatives were scrambling between 3 unelectable fringe candidates and spinning their wheels while engaging in a circular firing squad. Much like is happening again this election.
Get ready for 2008 all over again.
Not according to Jack Welch.
The guy seriously believes Huntsman is a potential winner?
I think that's all you have to know about his prognostication powers....
Pawlenty too?
He thinks Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman
This guy is gonna be wrong..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.