Posted on 09/13/2010 8:45:47 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Has President Obama and his White House P.R. team created a monster in Minority Leader John Boehner? Just consider this: Boehner is now the fourth most likely GOP presidential candidate behind Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee to win the 2012 Republican nomination, according to Ireland's biggest betting site.
Up until about a month ago, Boehner was not a household political name, but that was before the president started to single the Ohio congressman out as the White House struggled to put a face on the Republicans going into the fall elections. That effort has recently reached its height, with Obama mentioning Boehner in speeches. Over the weekend, Boehner's press office and the White House press secretary issued dueling statements over what the minority leader meant when he said on TV that he would vote for a package that wouldn't extend the Bush-era tax cuts to those making over $250,000, though he called it bad policy.
All of that focus on Boehner seems to have raised his profile so much that he's now being mentioned as a presidential candidate in some polls. For his part, Boehner has not talked about the White House, saying that his life goal has been instead to become speaker of the House.
But according to Paddy Power, the Irish sports betting site, Boehner now is an 8-1 shot for the GOP nomination. He's a 20-1 shot to win the presidency. Of course, he'd have to knock off the front-runner, Mitt Romney, and 4-1 favorite Sarah Palin who herself has surged in the betting odds due to her recent successes with political endorsements and stage-sharing with Fox's Glenn Beck.
Paddy Power said in a statement that "Sarah Palin is obviously playing her cards quite close to her chest but recent betting trends suggest that people believe she may just be the shot in the arm needed by the Republicans."
Still, despite his poor public approval ratings and the focus on Republicans in the midterm elections, Paddy Power still has Obama the odds on favorite to win reelection in 2012.
Paddy Power Betting Odds for the 2012 Republican Primaries
11/4 Mitt Romney
9/2 Sarah Palin
6/1 Mike Huckabee
8/1 John Boehner
8/1 Tim Pawlenty
8/1 John Thune
12/1 Newt Gingrich
12/1 Haley Barbour
12/1 Mitch Daniels
14/1 David Petraeus
16/1 Fred Thompson
16/1 Bill Owens
16/1 Bobby Jindal
16/1 Jon Huntsman
18/1 Chuck Hagel
20/1 Rudolph Giuliani
20/1 Jeb Bush
20/1 Lindsey Graham
20/1 Chuck Baldwin
20/1 Scott Brown
25/1 Tom Ridge
25/1 Ron Paul
33/1 John McCain
33/1 Condoleezza Rice
33/1 George Allen
33/1 John Ensign
33/1 Paul Ryan
33/1 Rand Paul
40/1 George Pataki
40/1 Bill Frist
50/1 Sam Brownback
50/1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
100/1 Dick Cheney
500/1 Laura Bush
Odds on the winner of the 2012 presidential election
8/11 Barack Obama
6/1 Mitt Romney
10/1 Sarah Palin
16/1 Hillary Clinton
18/1 Mike Huckabee
18/1 Tim Pawlenty
20/1 John Boehner
25/1 Bobby Jindal
25/1 Newt Gingrich
25/1 Haley Barbour
25/1 Mitch Daniels
28/1 Jon Huntsman
33/1 Joe Biden
33/1 Fred Thompson
33/1 Bill Owens
33/1 David Petraeus
33/1 Chuck Hagel
33/1 Rick Perry
40/1 Evan Bayh
40/1 Rudolph Giuliani
40/1 Jeb Bush
40/1 Lindsey Graham
40/1 Michael Bloomberg
40/1 Chuck Baldwin
50/1 Tom Ridge
50/1 Ron Paul
50/1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
66/1 John McCain
66/1 Al Gore
66/1 Condoleezza Rice
66/1 John Edwards
66/1 George Allen
66/1 Mark Warner
66/1 Caroline Kennedy
66/1 Rand Paul
80/1 Bill Frist
80/1 George Pataki
100/1 John Kerry
100/1 Jim Webb
100/1 Kathleen Sebelius
100/1 Tim Kaine
100/1 Sam Brownback
100/1 Janet Napolitano
100/1 Paul Ryan
Actually, I think Obama’s guys did that to try to “select” Boehner from among more threatening candidates. He’s fine in Congress. But not as pres.
11/4 Mitt Romney
9/2 Sarah Palin
6/1 Mike Huckabee
8/1 John Boehner
This tells you which RINOS the MSM is willing to entertain.
The talk started in Boehner’s own office. I don’t mind him but this is patently stupid talk.
This is the same guy who made Congressman Joe Wilson and Congressman Joe Barton apologize. No thanks. Boy don't have any cojones.
I’m hep to that. Guys a freaking douchebag. Will definitely keep the link handy. I know Alex W is over there.
Any Republican who appears in two news cycles within a week gets called presidential these days.
Romney is DOA. Romney Care is like a 10 ton anchor on his campaign, and rightfully so.
ALL of this recent garbage about Boehner is designed to demonize him and split us apart. I don’t care what anyone thinks of Boehner, don’t let these lib bastards get their way. Don’t be a sucker with this lib tripe... they have played this game before and it has worked for them.
I’ll be voting for Palin, if she runs.
As for Huckabeeeee, well, if that jackass runs, he will likely spoil the race and give an advantage to Obama for a second term.... what a nightmare that would be.
I like John Boehner, but I wouldn’t vote for him as president
You are spot on. AND this ploy is being used to divide us. It’s worked before, it could work again.
So Gov. Sarah Palin is a RINO? And I suppose the John Birch Society is a nest of Pinkos?
>>>Talk Starts Of Boehner For President
And that talk is emanating form the wazoo apertures of ruling class media and Democrats no doubt.
Palin has endorsed 6 RINOS.
McCain, Ayotte, Norton, Handel, Fiorina , and Bondi over conservatives.
Palin is on record for....
L.O.S.T. Treaty
Carbon Credits
Windfall profits Tax
Amnesty
” registration” which is the prelude to amnesty, and endorsed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Now tell me she is a conservative again.
Links? And Fiorina was probably the best we could do in California. The McCain endorsement is a red herring, and you know it! If Ayotte is a RINO, why are the Country Club Republicans fighting her?
” The McCain endorsement is a red herring, and you know it! “
All I needed to hear from you.
So someone taps you to be the second most important person in the world and two years later you stab them in the back? Remind me to never pick you for my team, okay?
” So someone taps you to be the second most important person in the world and two years later you stab them in the back? Remind me to never pick you for my team, okay? “
McCain and his staff abused Palin. Palin owed McCain nothing, shy of contempt.
She either has “battered wife syndrome” which I don’t believe, or she is out for herself....a political opportunist/populist, which I believe she is, and her HISTORY says she is.
YOUR team? This isn’t a baseball game!! DeMint and Bachmann stayed out of the primary. DeMint and Bachmann didn’t endorse 6 RINOS. Now Palin is raising money for the RNC, which 98% of all FReepers have been deliberately STARVING for years.
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