Sen. John Thune (R-SD) for president?

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

To be a viable Presidential candidate in a situation as is the 2016 GOP field, you have to stand out from the rest of the crowd in some way that will draw you attention and money early on.  Being a solid, workmanlike legislator, even rising up the Senate leadership ladder, is not the way to do that.  You've got to have some sort of leadership props, or, at the least, a new gimmick.

Marco Rubio is fading, while Ted Cruz is hanging in.  Why?  Because Cruz is seen as a leader.  A leader of an unruly GOP faction, to be sure, but a leader.  Rubio isn't seen as a leader; he's seen as an attention hound, whose gimmicks (immigration reform) don't play well with his potential audience.

Jeb Bush breaks out of the pack because of who he is.

Mitt Romney COULD break out of the pack because of who he is, past gaffes aside.

Chris Christie actually DID break out of the pack, because of where he's from, and he hasn't been swallowed up yet.

Rand Paul COULD break out of the pack because he, like Cruz, is a leader of a faction.

John Thune is the kind of guy who would be a compromise candidate in a brokered convention where all the leaders were hopelessly damaged by their primary campaigns and the convention was deadlocked.  Short of that unlikely scenario, he's got no chance.  He's not the LEADER of anything, nor does he have a gimmick to stand him out from the rest.