[AntonioXYZ]

You are making a big assumption, that our country will last till 2012.

[Fertionbratte]

Not until end of December sometime. Just after the election.

[CicyHannyCeli]

...just after the election and just before they take office.

[MattJargin]

The Governator, assuming he can run. I think he is the least fiscally conservative.

[neeclindy]

Originally posted by Ramo
I know. Doesn't mean there won't be a Constitutional Amendment... The odds against it are so remote that it's not really worth considering. The only ones interested in pushing it will be the Republicans, and they don't stand a chance of regaining even a majority of the Senate until at least 2014.

[avaicavum]

For now, I say the odds favor Romney. Republicans have a habit of nominating their also-rans from previous primaries (McCain, Dole, Bush Sr., Reagan).

[Qnpqbpac]

Technically, Petraeus is not Afghanistan, but CENTCOM... which means Tampa Bay, which explains why the Bucs are doing so well this year (competent leadership )

[fameintatenly]

Nah, I think Zombie Reagan is an acceptable Banana option.

[somawaima]

Jindal would wipe the floor with Palin and the Huck (though Huckabee is very jovial and friendly). He'd face off against Romney and don't discount Sanford.

[fetesiceWaist]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Jindal would wipe the floor with Palin and the Huck (though Huckabee is very jovial and friendly). He'd face off against Romney and don't discount Sanford. Sorry, but Jindal as the national Republican choice??? I can't see it.

Palin would have to grow a lot as a leader in the next four years to even think of running for herself. I think HUckabee is the most likely choice, as he now has time to build up a base of donors and organize the christian right.

[sasquatch999]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
Doesn't the Aztec calendar run through the end of 2012? There's some confort to be gathered there.

(BTW: Arnold can't run. He wasn't born in America.) I am so incredibly sick of various news stories and endless shows on the history and discovery channel about this. That is the end of a pre-set "era" in their calender. These eras last a long time. It is not the end of the world in their calendar. There is another era following that one and so on.

[PaulCameron]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Why can't you see Jindal as the Republican choice? He's the darling of the right. He is Indian and a Catholic. Maybe the intellectuals in the right love him, but sorry, I can't really see the rank and file evangelicals accross the midwest, plains, or mountain states lining up behind him (for racial and secterian reasons).

[Erawise]

Originally posted by Ramo
He's a fundie, so the Christian right can easily get behind him (like Brownback). The bigger issue is race. Dunno how that'll play out. I think Jindal might decide that waiting four years would increase his chances significantly (in both the primary and general). I agree. He's 37, so he would have no problem waiting until 2016. If Obama proves to be a popular president, I doubt he'll risk running and losing in 2012.

I think the GOP slate in 2012 will end up being fairly weak, like it was in 1996. Of course, it's hard to imagine it being weaker than it was this year.

[jabader]

I'd wait for 2016 if I were Jindal. Give the people eight years to get really sick of the second New Deal before you run.

[saopinax]

Well, it took Republicans 20 years to get back in the WH after the first New Deal started, and they have never actually undone most of it.

[TainuibeFaimb]

The American public is a lot less accepting of big government in this day and age. The first New Deal took place during the global high-water mark of public support for statist government.

[OrefZorremn]

Originally posted by GePap
Well, it took Republicans 20 years to get back in the WH after the first New Deal started, and they have never actually undone most of it. And the Republican that followed was primarily consolidating the New Deal.

[MightyMasc]

and lets not forget the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, and the new drug benefits program.

[Fosavoa]

Originally posted by GePap
and lets not forget the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, and the new drug benefits program. None of which are actually popular with the American people overall, IIRC. Just goes to show that Americans like the Democrats statist programs but hate the ones the Republicans devise.

[AnIInWon]

I Huckabee. it may be him and Romney fighting over it next time. I think Romney has an edge and am surprized I'm the first to pick him.

I don't think any of the folks on the list above are particularly strong and unless Obama screws up royally in the next 4 years probably won't be able to stand up to him.