Free Republic

That’s not quite what Gallup explicitly says in its analysis, but it’s a rather inevitable conclusion when one sees the graphic presentation of the results. Barack Obama lost eleven points in his approval ratings on a state-by-state basis in 2010, and now the floor has Obama in danger of losing the next election. Bear in mind when looking at the legend that the “average” approval rating for Obama was 47% — and that Obama had a 50% or better rating only in the dark-green states: Obama’s overall average approval rating in 2010 was 47%, down 11 percentage points from the...

So much for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels being the last, best hope for fiscal conservatives in 2012. Daniels was my choice for the 2012 Republican nomination until I heard an interview RealClearPolitics.com dug up from his days as political director for the Reagan White House. Imagine the individual mandate morphed with the public option, and that's what Daniels supported in 1987. When Robert Novak, famed journalist and cohost of "Evans and Novak" on CNN, asked Daniels if federal health insurance for catastrophic illnesses should be a GOP agenda item, he replied, "I sure do, and I'm glad you asked." If...

This past week, I've seen or read plenty of news analyses suggesting that the Republicans have a weak field of presidential hopefuls for 2012. Not so. I believe that many of the potential candidates who might seek the GOP nomination have strategically strong paths to the White House, assuming that President Obama is still vulnerable next year. Last week in this column, I put forth an explanation as to why Newt Gingrich is a stronger political force than many imagine. This week, let's consider the Republicans' other potential major candidates for the White House. For starters, there's Mitt Romney. Some...