Mitt Romney - non-starter after Romneycare. Ran a near-perfect campaign in ‘08 and not onky lost to McCain but got his butt kicked by Huckabee! Tsk, tsk.
Sarah Palin - Love her, still hasn't convinced me she could win. Media created a caricature of her and the RATs will beat her to death with the “quitter” label
Haley Barbour - Great guy, pretty much a regional candidate though, doubt he could appeal nationwide
Mitch Daniels - Had potential, this latest cave to Dems is very disappointing
Mike Huckabee - non-starter after some guy he pardoned killed a dude. ‘08 was his chance where he was the surprise up-and-comer. Now he's old news.
Newt Gingrich - Ick. Don't really need to explain this one, do I?
Herman Cain - Love Herman Cain, but he has no chance until he gets some kind of office under his belt. Coming in 3rd place in a Georgia primary is not a springboard to the White House.
John Thune - Not running, thankfully. Don't pick him for veep, either!
Chris Christie - Not running, and if he did run, the despicable Steve Lonegan fan club would be working on overtime to outright lie about his record and values, to convince GOP voters he loves abortion, gay marriage, gun grabbing, Muslims, etc.
Tim Pawlenty - Had some potential in ‘08 as a sitting governor, I've been disappointed with him since Al Franken stole the state under his watch.
Mike Pence - Great guy, probably a long-shot if he did run, and probably will opt to run for a statewide race instead.
Jim DeMint - Overall good guy, overrated, probably won't run
Ron Paul - I'm sure the cult of Ron Paul fantazies about a new 77 year old+ president giving us a “RLOVEULTION” in 2013. Ain't happening, guys.
Jeb Bush - Read my lips: No. More. Bushes.
Bobby Jindal - Was a hot prospect when he first got elected Governor, but his introduction nationwide was very disappointing.
Rick Santorum - Psst. Rick. When you lose by an 18 point margin in your home state as an incumbent, you don't choose the top office in the nation as your “comeback” attempt,
John Bolton - Aside from the fact he won't fight for traditional marriage, I really like the guy on everything else. Very unlikely to win the nomination, though.
Yeah I was still thinking Daniels might be acceptable. This doesn’t bode well.
If a sufficiently conservative fresh face gets in the race I think s/he can really take off. Seems to me the entire base is hungry for that candidate.
That’s too bad that Bolton is for gay marriage (or at least not against it). Good luck in Iowa caucus with that position.