Viable Republican Presidential Candidates for 2016

[Bo]

Scott Brown, John Thune, John Hoeven, Bobby Jindal.

[Bo]

What about Jane Norton or Kelly Ayotte?

No and no.

[Bo]

I think George Allen should climb back on the horse.

Allen is too damaged by Macacagate to be a good Presidential candidate and he'd need to return to elected office before running for President. Unfortunately for him, there are no elected offices where he would easily get elected.

[Bo]

I think George Allen should climb back on the horse.

Allen is too damaged by Macacagate to be a good Presidential candidate and he'd need to return to elected office before running for President. Unfortunately for him, there are no elected offices where he would easily get elected.

That might actually help him in the SC primary and it wouldn't matter in the Iowa primary.  I'm sure he'll win a large percentage of the Jewish vote if he was the presidential candidate since he's half Jewish on his mother's side.

I doubt Jewish voters really care about Allen's ancestry, especially considering that he himself isn't Jewish. Also, the South isn't as racist as it used to be (Obama won several states there and Tim Scott, a black Republican, won a GOP primary in SC this year), so his Macaca clip won't help him that much. Allen will be out of office for ten years in 2016. No one will remember him and he will need to find some way to fundraise huge amounts of money, and I don't see him doing that without getting elected to something first. The problem is, what office can he easily get elected to?

[Bo]

I think George Allen should climb back on the horse.

Allen is too damaged by Macacagate to be a good Presidential candidate and he'd need to return to elected office before running for President. Unfortunately for him, there are no elected offices where he would easily get elected.

That might actually help him in the SC primary and it wouldn't matter in the Iowa primary.  I'm sure he'll win a large percentage of the Jewish vote if he was the presidential candidate since he's half Jewish on his mother's side.

I doubt Jewish voters really care about Allen's ancestry, especially considering that he himself isn't Jewish. Also, the South isn't as racist as it used to be (Obama won several states there and Tim Scott, a black Republican, won a GOP primary in SC this year), so his Macaca clip won't help him that much. Allen will be out of office for ten years in 2016. No one will remember him and he will need to find some way to fundraise huge amounts of money, and I don't see him doing that without getting elected to something first. The problem is, what office can he easily get elected to?

Allen is considering a rematch for his old Senate seat in 2012. I think that he could win it with a fair amount of hard work. He COULD win office, but not easily.

Maybe Virginia Governor in 2013? Provided that McDonnell remains popular for all of his term, he could take the Governor's office again. There is no rule against him taking two (or as many as possible) terms nonconsecutively, after all.

For the Senate, Ken Cuccinelli could also want to run in 2012 and thus Allen might need to beat him in a primary. Same with VA Gov. in 2013--Bill Bolling is going to want that job and McDonnell would probably support him considering that Bolling stepped aside for him in 2009. Thus, if he runs for Senate or Governor, Allen could definitely face a serious primary, not to mention a tough general election campaign. Even if he does manage to return to elected office, a Presidential run would publicize some other baggage that he has (displaying the Confederate flag in college, I believe) and thus his support could easily collapse. I think Allen's glory days are behind him.

[Bo]

And non sarcastically, you will have Romney because that is all he knows how to do. He will run, and run, and run, no matter what, and keep changing his persona to fit the bill.

I can see him running in every election from 2008-2024. If he lives an extremely long life (as is common with Mormons) you could see him running in the 2030s.

If he loses in 2012, Romney probably wouldn't want to spend any more of his money on futile Presidential bids.

[Bo]

And non sarcastically, you will have Romney because that is all he knows how to do. He will run, and run, and run, no matter what, and keep changing his persona to fit the bill.

I can see him running in every election from 2008-2024. If he lives an extremely long life (as is common with Mormons) you could see him running in the 2030s.

I'm actually surprised he is not RNC chairman, that would help him win over the evangelical leaders, possibly.

RNC Chairmen typically don't run for President. You can't manage your party and run a Presidential campaign at the same time without doing a bad job.