Posted on 05/15/2015 2:02:01 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Democrats may be headed for a coronation with Hillary Clinton as the heavy favorite to win that party’s nomination in 2016. But the Republicans most definitely are not in a similar situation.
We never expected Jeb Bush to lead wire-to-wire, and sure enough he’s in a slump that has pushed him down to No. 2. Here are our current rankings:
10. Rick Santorum: He’s barely on the list; Lindsey Graham or Rick Perry might be better picks for our Top Ten. But Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, is an under-rated campaigner and could replicate his 2012 success in the early primaries.
9. Dr. Ben Carson: His supporters are passionate, but rookie politicians make rookie mistakes. Carson could do well in the early primaries but there are huge holes in his game -- geopolitics, taxes, etc. A lucrative career as a Fox TV commentator will beckon by next spring.
8. Mike Huckabee: We can envision him winning Iowa, South Carolina and some of the early Southern primaries, but then what? Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, will run out of money by late March. His stance on issues is an odd mixture of big government populism and 1950s values, a combination which should limit his appeal.
7. Chris Christie: A confession -- we love watching this guy, he’s blunt and colorful. He also wants to curb Social Security benefits, an idea that doesn’t poll very well. If Christie, the governor of New Jersey, can hang on through the first two months of caucuses and primaries, he just might catch fire in the big state primaries, so it’s premature to totally write him off....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.barrons.com ...
If: Jeb
Then: we lose.
Period.
Blarg.
I can’t see the full story without subscribing or logging in <_<
Can’t read the article, behind a paywall.
Who’s 1-6?
Why isn’t it “behind a paywall” for me as well? I’m no subscriber to that paper or any other, for that matter...
Can’t comment since we can’t read the whole story!!!
Can’t comment since we can’t read the whole story!!!
I can only see numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10. That being said, I don’t think any of these four are viable candidates and should not waste their time, or the public’s.
6. John Kasich: Give us the right odds and we’d bet a bundle on the Ohio governor. Kasich is itching to run, he’s excellent on the Sunday talk shows, and he’s been a good governor of a crucial state. Kasich is prickly and combative, but since when was that a liability? Kasich’s strongest argument is simple — he’d be a good president.
5. Rand Paul: He’s off to a pretty slow start, isn’t he? Paul, a Kentucky senator, has alienated the GOP establishment with his personal attacks and his dovish geopolitical views. Paul is the most difficult candidate to analyze — do young people really like him? Not as much as they liked his father, in our opinion. Paul could be the first major dropout, or stay in the hunt until May.
4. Ted Cruz: He has raised a ton of money and he means business. Cruz, a Texas senator, could do very well in the early primaries and he’s a fantastic debater. Could he win a general election? It’s difficult to envision Cruz capturing more than 15 states, but the caucus voters in Iowa don’t always care. The conventional wisdom is that he’s already running for 2020, but Cruz is a fiercely disciplined young man in a hurry who can’t be counted out in 2016..
3. Scott Walker: He’s lost some altitude in the past couple of months, and he’s still a work in progress. Plus, Wisconsin has budget problems that will require Gov. Walker to spend more time in Madison. A harsh conclusion is that Walker could be the 2016 version of Tim Pawlenty; but he’s a terrific campaigner, so we subscribe to the view that Walker could win the vice presidential nomination at the very least.
2. Jeb Bush: It wasn’t that he stumbled on Iraq this week — it was his failure to anticipate the questions and prepare some crisp answers, a warning signal that his political instincts are suspect. Bush, a former two-term governor of Florida and the younger brother of former President George W. Bush, probably will lose most of the early primaries but he’s a decent campaigner who will have plenty of money for the big states as the race heads into the stretch run. He still has a good chance to be the nominee — but to be blunt, a suspicion is growing that Jeb is not The Answer that the country is looking for.
1. Marco Rubio: He’s a star and he’s getting more confident. Rubio, a Florida senator, is just what the Republicans need — a handsome new face, ethnic, well-funded, a fabulous speaker, acceptable to all wings of the party. Rubio is so young (44 in two weeks) that he could stumble, and he’s awfully hawkish for young people. But unlike Jeb Bush (or Hillary Clinton), who evoke the past, Rubio speaks to the future.
Subscription only. Maybe you signed up a long time ago and forgot?
May as well list the whole 10.
Why do they keep saying Jeb is the front runner? I’ll say he is nowhere, and only media driven spin is pumping him up. The same media spin that would lead you to believe homosexuals are 50% of the population and everybody else is just fine with it except for you because you are a bigot and a hater. I don’t believe it for a minute.
Nope, I haven’t subscribed to a newspaper since the 1990s.
Can’t, it’s excerpt and link at FR.
https://www.google.com/#q=a+barrons+gop+presidential+poll+
I got there by means of the top link on a google search reference
I guess they assume that anyone searching for their stuff using google will subscribe to their “paper”
Seeing the complete list, I would cut off at 5 (just to be fair). These five should battle it out, and let the best man win.
I want the candidates to tell me why I should vote FOR them, and not AGAINST the their opponents
Cruz/Walker/Rubio....only ones Im interested in and the only ones Ill work for............
Put “A New Leader Hits the Top of GOP Prez List” in Google, click on top hit. Full article.
Rubio as number one is interesting. I just heard he has Larry Ellison on his side. This is a blue whale. Ellison (my old boss many levels up) does not like to lose.
Rubio’s a star..........well, maybe to Chuck Schumer and the Gang of Eight. I’m never voting for the lying backstabber.
Bush, forget about it.
I figured it out, you found the article via a search engine, yes?
Sites that require you to pay will often let you read that one article if you come to it from a search engine, but try to read other articles when you’re there and it won’t work, just like posting a link here won’t work.
I googled the article title, got the link and was able to see the whole article, anyone can do the same.
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