Dear teenyelliott,
Name recognition isn't too important at this point, at least not for someone like Sen. Allen.
If he were to run, he would be taken seriously by the lamestream media instantly, and his name recognition would go up very quickly. It's a matter of his resume. Former US Representative, former successful governor of a state, US Senator, high up in the Republican leadership.
Also, he's relatively charming, mildly charismatic, and can give a pretty good speech.
I don't know if he'd take it all the way - that's one thing the current system is good at - weeding out the "not ready for primetime" folks. Only time - and process - would tell if he's ready for primetime.
I don't really think that Sen. Kerry had high name recognition prior to his 2004 run. Certainly, Mr. Clinton didn't have high name recognition prior to the 1992 cycle, nor did Mr. Dukakis prior to the 1988 cycle. And I remember the guffaws concerning Mr. Carter in 1976. It isn't unusual to nominate someone who isn't initially well-known throughout the countryside.
Because of his somewhat limited experience, I'm not sure that Rep. Pence would attract the same level of "seriousness."
sitetest
George Allen once had a Confederate flag hanging in his cabin. The MSM will crucify him with this before the first primary.