In today's New York Daily News, Charles Krauthammer gives what he sees as the candidates and their odds of becoming the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.
As usual, it is a great column and has some good nuggets.
However, I do quibble with Mr. Krauthammer on a couple of points.
Mr. Krauthammer seems to be certain that Sarah Palin is not running for president this time around. What Mr. Krauthammer has not gotten yet is that Mrs. Palin never does the conventional approach. Sure, if she was conventional, she would have already announced that she was going to have the "exploratory committee" and be like two who have already announced that. The two are former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. I think that there is a better than 50/50 chance Mrs. Palin does run this time around. And, Mr. Krauthammer might want to take a look at this article in The Wall Street Journal. It is a very unconventional way to start a campaign, but that is Sarah Palin. Unconventional.
Another is that good odds that he places on the Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour.
To be clear, I like Gov. Barbour. The guy is a proven winner and should not be counted out in the least. But I fear that his negatives will end up being higher than Mrs. Palin's are at the moment. It is not just the years of lobbying and a mixed approach and or record on civil rights. He is from the very Deep South. And what more of a caricature can Team Obama have. Any other year and Gov. Barbour would deserve the kind of odds Mr. Krauthammer is giving. This is not the year.
And then there is the Indiana governor, Mitch Daniels. A good governor but can not win this election as a Johnny Onenote about spending and the growth of government. Two important things that turn me off about Gov. Daniels. One, thinking that there is going to be any kind of truce with the left of social issues. Not. Gonna. Happen.
Also, we have absolutely no idea where he stands on foreign policy. We see what happens when we go on a narrative rather than knowledge of a candidate and his or her policies.
But overall this is a thoughtful piece. And believe me, it will be subject to multiple reviews and revisions. But I will keep this in the back pocket.
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