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Each time a 2012 Republican presidential contender makes a misstep, his or her supporters hasten to remind us that no candidate is perfect. True enough. Barack Obama had virtually no experience, was one of the most liberal members of the Senate and had opposed the strategy that was leading to victory in Iraq. Still, he beat Hillary Clinton, who had even bigger problems (e.g. running an "experience" campaign in a "change" election). So what are the greatest weaknesses for the potential crop of 2012 contenders, and what are their likely responses? Mitt Romney's problems are two-fold -- an underlying sense...

Who among us can contain their excitement? The GOP presidential primary season has begun! By my count, there are 24 people who are beneficiaries of nontrivial presidential buzz: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, John Thune, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, Rick Santorum, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, David Petraeus, Ron Paul, Jeb Bush, John Bolton, Bob McDonnell, Jim DeMint, Chris Christie, Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, Judd Gregg, Marco Rubio and Rick Perry. With a heavy heart, I take it upon myself to winnow the field for you. Half of these people are almost surely not...

This is turning out to be one Fugly Lame Duck Session. Who is standing out as the strong voices against the Obama/Reid/Pelosi avalanche? Which presidential wannabees have spoken up in the last week or so? The Good news first. Porkulus III, better known as the Omnibus Funding bill, was sidetracked and Dingy Harry agreed to work out a continuing resolution to fund the gubmint with the Republicans: Mike Pence (Strongly against): http://mikepence.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=405&Itemid=65 Jim DeMint (Strongly against): http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/255332/demint-pledges-expose-and-fight-omnibus-bill-robert-costa John Thune (Strongly against): http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_6d990dec-07b1-11e0-bf82-001cc4c03286.html Newt (Strongly against): http://www.redcounty.com/content/omnibus-spending-bill-no-way-no-how TPaw (Against): http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/transcript/pawlenty-end-beginning?page=0 Daniels (no statement found) Romney (no statement found) Huckabee (No statement...

WASHINGTON—The tax deal now before Congress has kicked off the first real debate of the 2012 Republican presidential campaign, with several prospective candidates heralding the package as a victory for taxpayers and others criticizing it as a costly stimulus bill in disguise. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have both come out sharply against the measure, which President Barack Obama hammered out last week with Senate Republican leaders. Both cite the deal's price tag, with Mr. Romney saying it will heap billions more onto the nation's debt load. Supporting the package are former Arkansas Gov....

Surveying the crop of would-be Republican presidential contenders in 2012, some Christian leaders can’t muster much enthusiasm. “The supposed frontrunners have all got problems,” says Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and a prominent leader of the religious right. Mitt Romney? “He put ‘Obamacare Light’ in place in Massachusetts,” says Land. “It’s going to be awfully difficult for him to surmount that.” Sarah Palin? “Her problem is her very high negatives. Evangelicals want somebody they like, but they also want somebody who can beat Barack Obama.” Mike Huckabee? “The problem Mike’s got is...

Well we've reviewed the top of the field, yet there are still some true contenders likely to be on stage. This is a crowded class, filled with plausible nominees. My gut tells me that fund raising is going to be the biggest factor, with a couple of candidates pulling way out very early and that being the only thing that thins the herd. The other factor may be perceived electibility, which was not much of a factor in this year's congressional races, as Republicans boldly nominated some of the most conservative candidates of recent memory. Did they learn a lesson...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has been busy since finishing second to John McCain in the 2008 presidential primaries, including hosting a popular cable show on Fox News, talking about the news on the radio, starting a political action committee and writing three books. "More people know me from Fox News Channel, than ever knew me from running for president," Huckabee told Fox News' Bret Baier. His knack for communicating to middle America is paying off. He received the highest favorability rating among potential 2012 Republican contenders in a recent Associated Press poll -- 49 percent. He also came in...

Rep. Mike Pence this week left his post in House leadership, with the wide presumption that he’ll run for president or for governor of Indiana in 2012. He told us on ABC’s “Top Line” that he’ll make up his mind “sometime early next year,” and said that while “I just love” Sarah Palin, her decision on whether to run won’t impact his. “Our decision is going to be wholly dependent on taking the time to prayerfully consider where we can make the most difference on the conservative values that brought us to Washington to begin with,” said Pence, R-Ind. “So...

My first piece on potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates focused on the big names that most Americans are familiar with. As I noted, it is very typical for these candidates to be out front two years away, when the campaigning is just beginning and that polls this early rarely coincide with what actually happens. I will note that I received far and away the most emails from supporters of Mike Huckabee who vehemently believe he will be the nominee. It also leaked that same week, that White House staff asked off the record whom they felt they would be facing...

BRADENTON – If you were watching election coverage on television last Tuesday, you probably heard the saying, "the 2012 race for the White House starts tomorrow," at least once and for a very simply reason – it's true. Presidential elections are a three-year process, the fist portion taking place off the grid for the most part, as potential candidates feel out respected advisors and party heavyweights before beginning to setup the complicated (and expensive) apparatuses required of the next step. That next step has arrived. Those who have already made up their mind and whose current position would not suffer...

I've just returned from a fascinating and wide-ranging interview with former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. On the subject of electoral politics and personal ambition, Bolton has been playing a bit coy with the media in recent weeks, refusing to rule out a potential presidential bid in 2012. This morning he waded further into the subject, telling me he's "very seriously" contemplating a White House run in 2012 and that he's begun consulting with high-level campaign operatives to discuss feasibility and logistics. Bolton cited what he described as President Obama's failures, the "wide open" Republican field, and...

Alternate headline: “Mitch Daniels’s dark-horse presidential bid dead on arrival.” Here’s what he told the Weekly Standard per the profile Ed flagged yesterday: Beyond the debt and the deficit, in Daniels’s telling, all other issues fade to comparative insignificance. He’s an agnostic on the science of global warming but says his views don’t matter. “I don’t know if the CO2 zealots are right,” he said. “But I don’t care, because we can’t afford to do what they want to do. Unless you want to go broke, in which case the world isn’t going to be any greener. Poor nations are...