Talk Elections

Yes, I realize this list is incredibly long (51 options, to be exact). Yes, I realize many of these options are completely implausible (ranging from the mildly implausible, John McCain, to the absurd, Dick Cheney).

Why list Alan Keyes and not Olympia Snowe? I don't know, because how many votes Alan Keyes gets will fascinate me much more than how many Olympia Snowe would get.

So please, vote, discuss, criticize, and enjoy yourselves.

Assuming a not unsuccessful first term for Obama...

Gingrich

Newt Gingrich.

I cannot explain my reasoning's, as its based purely on instinct. However, I can assure you, as much as Sarah Palin is an icon for American conservatism at this moment in time, she won't win the Republican Nomination in 2012. If they nominate her in 2012, may god have mercy on the soul of the Republican Party. Yes, I am an atheist, but that was the only saying that 'popped' into my head at that moment.

Uhhh....you're listing John Barrasso, but not Romney or Huckabee???

Wow, just wow... so I come back to check this thread, realize I can't see the results, think for a second, decide to vote for Romney...

Yet he's nowhere to be found. And I spent so very long working on this too.

So to answer your question, yes, yes I am.

I also missed Mel Martinez's first name.

Jeff Sessions and a man who isn't even Constitutional eligible to be President get listed but Santorum doesn't?  :P

I want to say that you screwed up there but it's kind of funny when I think about it. If someone puts those two (and some other odd "possibilities") up there but leave out Santorum, maybe he really isn't possible at all. But I do believe he'll try for it if Obama is unsuccessful.

Of those listed, my top choices would be Pawlenty, Ensign and Sununu.

Well the Schwarzenegger pick was conscious, and done with full knowledge of his Constitutional ineligibility. Santorum, on the other hand, was another mistake... I probably should have listed him, even though I find him to be about as likely a nominee as Jeff Session... I could have thrown Allen and Frist up there too, come to think of it. Oh well, this whole thing is just awful.

OVERLOAD

Are you assuming foreign born citizens can become presidents too?

I'm not saying it's in any way plausible the Constitution will be amended within the next three years to allow Arnold to run, but I think he's still far, far more likely than John Cox or Joe Lieberman, so... yeah.

Voted Jindal, but really think Romney. I have always assumed that someone with the sheer amount of baggage Newt has cannot win a major party's nomination, but I guess it will have been over a decade since he has done anything damaging. Even though the early Republican polls don't show it I think a sufficient number of Republicans will view Palin's 2008 vp candidacy as weak, which will prevent Palin from winning the nomination. I still don't see how Huckabee will appeal to anyone but the fundies in the Republican party, and I doubt that they alone will be enough to win the nomination.

     I was just thinking that Romney might be an acceptable compromise, but eh. Either Johnson or Paul would be most acceptable to Libertarians & libertarian Republicans. I'm personally hoping for Johnson.

Go Palin!

WTF is Lisa Murkowski doing on the list when the Maine twins aren't?  I voted Jindal, b/c it was between him and Romney.

WHAT???? How could you forget Mike Huckabee??

Anyway, if Obama is unpopular and turns out to be another Carter, then the Republicans will naturally go the way of Reagan and nominate Huckabee (who like Reagan was second in the primaries during a Democrat year).

If Obama is popular, then they will nominate Giuliani or Palin as a "throwaway card" so as to not damage candidates like Huckabee who actually have a chance in 2016.

Anyway, I predict the former situation. So, Huckabee is the nominee, wins the election and becomes the new Reagan.

Mike Huckabee is not Ronald Reagan.

From the list, Mike Pence.  Though Tim Pawlenty looks like another fellow who will appeal to most Republicans, too.  Perhaps a few more than Pence, even.

If the economy is in horrible shape like it is now, I'd say Romney's stock rises.

Yes. If the economy continues to suffer the Republicans will not only want someone like Romney because of his business experience, but also would probably use the opportunity to trash left wing economics and Romney would be a much better candidate for that than Palin, Huckabee and others who mainly appeal to the social conservatives.

Why not? Huckabee is like Reagan in almost every sense. They both began their careers out of politics, then both became popular two term governors in their respective states. Both ended up second in the primaries during a Democrat year and both made very impressive performances. I am confident that just like Reagan, Huckabee will emerge on top next time and win.

You simply dislike Huckabee and bash him whenever he is mentioned.

No basis for it, but I have a hunch it will be a Governor.  Either Pawlenty or Crist.

Other -Mitt Romney.  I am not sure how he failed to make this list. 

And how could you forget Mike Huckabee as well? 

Thank God that I am not the only one here who did not forget Huckabee.

I don't mean to bash him and I'm sorry if I comes off that way.  It's just that I don't think he'd be successful as the GOP's standard-bearer.  He has almost no economic bona fides except for his recent support of the Fair Tax, which not all Conservatives support and has almost no shot of ever being sold to the American people.  Plus, the fact that his only experience prior to being Lt. Governor was as a Baptist minister will only scare away independent voters.

Ronald Reagan was governor of the most populous state in the Union.  He arrived on the national scene as the Conservatism to Nixon's moderacy.  He was part of a movement that continued for twelve years, culminating in the 1980 election.  Mike Huckabee won the Iowa primary and provided some witty comments during the debates.  Comparing him to Reagan is like comparing 2008 Tampa Bay Rays to the '27 Yankees. 

He seems like a nice guy and relatively smart, but I see no reason why he should ever be President of the United States. 

Gingrich is my choice at the moment.

Pretty good assessment.  Huckabee and Reagan both have that folksy charm.  But you're spot-on.  There's a reason Huck had trouble attracting fiscal conservatives.  What boggles my mind still is that he had trouble pinning down a lot of social conservatives like James Dobson.  They were a perfect match on the issues Dobson cares most about. 

However, with a few years to figure out what went wrong and hone his message, Huckabee could indeed be a force to be reckoned with. 

If Obama has a successful first term, then I don't imagine the shrewder Republicans sacrificing themselves. If Obama has a poor first term, we might see some more credible candidates.

If Obama has a good first term, it will be Romney.

If Obama has a poor first term it should be Crist.

Problem Huck was not second. He came in third in overal popular votes. Check the primaries page on this site. He was also third in the delegates till Romney got out and his delegates started to drift over to McCain as Romney had wished. Huck is no Reagan. Huck is a reincarnation of Huey Long. If he or anyone like him is nominated I can guarrantee less then 100 Electoral votes.

                     Caucusus                               Primaries                          Total             
Romney         135,490 38.0%                     4,525,036 21.73%            4,538,526
Huckabee        85,545 24.0%                     4,179,514 20.07%            4,265,059

Romney beat Mike Huckabee to come in second in the popular vote by 273,467 votes. Of the 85,000 Huck got in Caucusus nearly half 40,000 came from his Iowa win and was based almost solely on Evengelicals. Huck came in 6th among non Evangelicals in IA. Huckabee would need a very divided field to win and I doubt he will get that like he had in 2008. Prediction:Mike Huckabee will never be President of the US and will never be nominated by the GOP. 

Huckabee has charm. I cannot find anything unappealing about his personality.

Romney has nostalgia. He reminds me of the 50's, a great decade I never lived in.

This goes without saying.

No Romney, no Huckabee....
No Cantor, no Petraeus....

No Olympia Snowe, no Susan Collins (if you also want the very highly unlikely)
No Condie Rice, no Bill Owens, no Rick Santorum (if you also want the zero-chance).
Arnie and Mel Martinez are foreign-born.
Cox is a Chris, not a John.

OMG.
Just lock this thread.
And post a new one.

(BTW, I would have voted Pawlenty if it'd be a good poll).

Yet you include 51 others, many of which have a much smaller chance than Huckabee of being nominated. Do you seriously think that Dick Cheney, Sonny Perdue or Jodi Rell (all included) would even seek the nomination, let alone actually being the nominee? This proves that your exclusion of Huckabee is not based on your/North Carolina Yankee's prediction/personal opinion. It is based on your disrespect for Huckabee and your refusal to include him as a candidate because of your bias toward him (might I add that this comes with no apparent reason, unless of course you are a RINO).

OK EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP!

I messed this one up by not including Huckabee and Romney, that was a typographical mistake... as for all the others people have suggested (i.e. Santorum, Patreus, Snowe, Collins, etc), those are all people I actually forgot, and you are right to point them out.

I'M LOCKING THIS THREAD because I'm tired of people pointing out how absent minded I am... I'll redo it and post a new one soon.