Who Will The Republicans Look to in 2012

[MODU]

I think Huckabee's shine would wear off by 2012, especially now that he is a tv show host.  Mitt Romney probably won't rise much from where he is now.  Jindal has potential, but he would need to have some sort of major national impact in the next year or two to establish himself as a serious contender.  Sanford is just too vanilla and he'll get lost in the crowd.  If groomed properly, Palin could have potential, but I doubt that she'd make a run.  Crist might make a run depending on how well his first term goes in Florida.  Barbour also has potential.

But then again, 2012 will be a very different time than right now, so it could easily be someone we've never considered. 

[MODU]

If you want to get into real "fantasy" predictions, let's go with Petraeus.  After a few years of butting heads with an Obama administration while successfully stablizing two nations, Petraeus retires from service and is instantly drafted by the GOP to be their candidate.  Since he is already a national hero, he wouldn't have any problem competitng in the name recognition game against an incumbant President.