Posted on 05/09/2011 6:20:47 AM PDT by markomalley
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Talk to enough people around this key primary state and you'll learn two lessons, over and over again. One is that there is absolutely, positively no unity among Republicans about any presidential candidate or potential candidate; there's no such thing as a frontrunner. The other is that in the back of their minds, many Republicans are hoping that somewhere, somehow, a superhero candidate will swoop down out of the sky and rescue them from their current lackluster presidential field. They know it's a fantasy, but they still hope.
It's not just dissatisfaction with the field -- Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, and Gary Johnson -- that took part in the first GOP debate on Thursday night. Even if the other would-be candidates -- Mike Huckabee , Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and Donald Trump -- had all been onstage with the others Thursday, there still would have been plenty of unhappiness among South Carolina's political professionals, activists, and ordinary people who just follow politics. Seeing each candidate as flawed, they focus on the unattainables -- Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio -- who they believe might bring a fresh face and new hope to the GOP.
Of course, each of the unattainables is so new in his job -- governor of New Jersey, chairman of the House Budget Committee, senator from Florida -- that they could not easily drop their responsibilities and run for president, especially since they haven't been building campaigns for months, as most of the other would-be candidates have. And of course, if any of the unattainables actually ran, the dissatisfied might quickly develop doubts about him, too. But at least they'd be new doubts, rather than the old, lingering ones about some of the current candidates.
All this has led to intense frustration among Republicans in South Carolina -- and around the country, too. They believe Barack Obama is eminently beatable, even after the recent triumph of killing Osama bin Laden. When his bin Laden bounce settles down, it's likely that Obama will return to the mid-40s job approval range. And yet Republicans are fighting the idea, heard not just in the press but among some of their own colleagues, that a president in the mid-40s can't be defeated. It doesn't make sense to them. So they hope for some new way out of the problem.
The one candidate already in the field who is generating excitement as a genuinely new face is Herman Cain, the talk radio host and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza. It's not because Cain is young -- at 65, he is the oldest candidate in the field, aside from Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich -- but because he brings a businessman's credibility to a race dominated by economic issues; has a gift for commonsense talk; and does it all with a little showmanship (along with some startling weaknesses in the area of foreign policy and national security). After Thursday's debate, when Frank Luntz conducted a focus group discussion for Fox News, Cain was the big winner.
Now another possible candidate, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, appears to believe he can be the new face Republican primary voters are seeking. Huntsman, who just a week ago returned to the United States from his Obama-appointed post as ambassador to China, is moving at warp speed to set up a campaign. After meeting with potential donors in New York, his first primary-state stop was South Carolina, where he met with Governor Nikki Haley and other top politicos and gave a non-political graduation speech at the University of South Carolina. Huntsman has already assembled a team, made up in large part of the advisers who worked for John McCain in the last election.
If voters perceive a McCain connection, that could be bad news for Huntsman. By and large, Republicans in South Carolina have no nostalgia for the 2008 McCain candidacy. They will always respect McCain for his military service, and of course McCain won the South Carolina primary, but many look back on his '08 presidential run with regret; some will tell you they held their nose to vote for him in the general election. Huntsman's opponents will try to pigeonhole him as a civil-unions-loving, cap-and-trading moderate. If they succeed, and a man with a solid record of governing becomes known as McCain without the heroism -- well, that wouldn't help.
In the end, it's always possible Republicans will return to their old habits and nominate the candidate who finished second the last time around. In this race, that could mean either Romney or Huckabee, who virtually tied for runner-up in the 2008 primaries. At the moment, Romney is pretty much nowhere in South Carolina -- the enormous amount of money he spent in the state in '08 has bought him very little loyalty -- and has not put a lot of effort into Iowa, either. Huckabee, still doing his program for Fox News and radio commentary for ABC, is giving off signals that he will run but hasn't yet made a final decision.
One thing is certain: No previously-unknown savior is going to descend from the sky to save Republicans. If they are to defeat Barack Obama, they'll have to do it with someone from their extended field today.
One thing for sure, there’s a lot of riff raff on the GOP side. Somehow we’ve found ourselves with a legion of small men. Even the ultimate empty suit himself towers over most our field.
I hope York is wrong. We need a dark horse now more than ever.
Gov. Palin lacks presidential-grade experience, but Ryan, Rubio and Christie have it?????
This year nobody has a ready-made, enthusiastic constituency, except for She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. If she runs she'll have a tremendous advantage over the herd of dog meat likely to be her competition. She gets to start considerably ahead.
He did not get behind McCain...said he would be the death nail for the republican party!!!
Note to Byron York and GOP cocktail club: Trying to ignore Sarah Palin and her hordes of supporters is not going to make her go away.
Of interest because of who is -not- mentioned.
“For Republicans, it gives NEW meaning to “the elephant in the room.”
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Elephant in the room implies some sort of embarrassment.
I think Grizzly Bear would be more apropos.
The aisle-crossing, micro-balled, career politician cowards in the Republican Party and in the elite “conservative” media, are scared $h!tless by the grassroots power and excitement generated by Sarah Palin.
They can’t control or counter it. Like their cousins, the Communists, formerly known as the Democrat party, they are all about TOP-DOWN control.
>>> Plus, Hunstman is Romney-like (for those who think Mitt is the “answer” or not) find Huntsman the “next best thing!” >>>
IMO Huntsman is even worse.
I’m not a Romney guy and will not be supporting him - nor do I hold him in quite as low regard as do many FREEPER’s — but I think Huntsman is more like McCain - and I think McCain is about as low as you can go on “our side” of things. Well, there’s Huck, but that’s another story.....
“The one candidate already in the field who is generating excitement as a genuinely new face is Herman Cain, the talk radio host and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. It’s not because Cain is young — at 65, he is the oldest candidate in the field, aside from Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich — but because he brings a businessman’s credibility to a race dominated by economic issues; has a gift for commonsense talk; and does it all with a little showmanship (along with some startling weaknesses in the area of foreign policy and national security). After Thursday’s debate, when Frank Luntz conducted a focus group discussion for Fox News, Cain was the big winner.”
Cain gave the wisest answer possible to a question with missing pieces.
There is obviously a lot of confidential intelligence that caused Barry to leave Gitmo open, and leave most of President Bush’s WOT policies in place.
Political correctness is going to get us killed if we can’t even say the Muslim terrorists are trying to kill us.
He knows the most important, most basic thing about the war, that we must be on the right side with Israel.
He would close the borders, and put the military in charge of rules of engagement, instead of the politicians.
Herman has the right positions on everything I care about, without some of the HUGE baggage that most of the politicians have.
There are so many people that I like one or two things about - I’ve been trying to find someone who has them all.
And, as Rush said, Herman has it all.
And Herman even goes Rush one better, believing we can get rid of the cancer that is the income tax, that is killing our country.
I think beating cancer in his own life gives him a lot more credibility about his ability to get the job done.
And being so open about his WHOLE life will endear him to a lot of people who may still be stinging from getting the wool pulled over their eyes by the teleprompter reader.
And when any American is trying to choose between someone who wants to keep the corrupt Income tax system, or give us back our liberty with the Fair Tax, that also looks like an easy choice to me.
We are looking for someone who hasn’t been part of the problem.
When America is looking for someone like Reagan, who can give us common sense solutions, and really connect with the real people all over this country, in spite of a media and an establishment set against him, then we have to ask ourselves, “Why do they want to maintain the status quo?”
This election can’t be about party.
It is going to have to be about America, and whether we can save it.
Think of the focus group’s reaction on a national scale, and I think we’re talking a Reagan size landslide.
Giuliani, the perceived "frontrunner" in 2008, was well to the left of McCain. Rudy's campaign went nowhere.
Let be honest, this is whom people like Bryon York talk to. The RINO Establishement is pissed because they don't have a hand picked anointed one to foist on us dumb peons ala McCain 2008.
S
As anyone who bothers to pay attention can tell you, ANY one of the people in the GOP field would be a 100% improvement over 0. Or do you LIKE 9% Unemployment, Record level federal borrowing/spending and $4.00 a gallon gasoline?
Sadly once again you are mindlessly clinging to your "Hate The GOP Always" dogmas instead of bothering to pay the least bit of attention to what is actually going on.
>>> Giuliani, the perceived “frontrunner” in 2008, was well to the left of McCain. Rudy’s campaign went nowhere.>>>
I respectfully disagree that Rudy would govern left of McCain. He “lives” a lifestyle left of McCain’s lifestyle, but he was very clearly right of McCain on
A: Terror (he called it the Jihadists war against US)
B: Judges (sworn to use Scalia as his model)
C: Taxes
D: Regulation
E: Crime
I think this is the big myth of Rudy. He governed New York as far to the right as New York can possibly be governed. This is not an endorsement of Rudy, simply a contrast with him and McCain philsophically on how they clearly campaigned in 08.
‘South Carolina’s political professionals’ are the very same doofi that keep getting Pandsey Graham re-elected. A bigger bunch of creeps would be hard to find. These PP’s are basically filled with a bunch od disgruntled DRats because DRats don’t get elected often.
I'm very unimpressed w/Huntsman and for many reasons, believe him to be a true "liberal sleeper." He is passing himself off as a "reasonable Republican" not offensive to those who are not conservative, i.e. "looks Presidential," yet using enough conservative "code words" to get a pass from social/fiscal conservatives.
It is those conservative voters who are much less informed on not only the important conservative issues but especially on the backgrounds of the candidates (they are followers of any candidate who sounds and looks good, makes enough conservative-sounding statements without any conviction or track record) and will easily go along with whomever the GOP "insiders," a/k/a inside the Beltway talking heads, as well as the media, who, to a person, will give him the "star treatment" in a Primary. It is then that they will destroy him in a General Election.
The liberal media/dimocRAT party, as usual, will push which ever GOP candidate that they know they can wipe out in the General Election (or, God forbid, were he elected, would be much more to their liking on any and all issues near and dear to their hearts!
I was a little suprised at Rush going overboard about all the GOP candidates “taking it” to Obama. I must have nodded off somewhere during the debate. It was OK and Herman Cain was good but I already liked Herman to start with. There is no rock star this year unless someone comes out of nowhere. Trump could be a rock star if he had a serious agenda to put forth. Maybe thats what he is up to these last couple of weeks. Who knows? Forget Huntsman, Romney, Huck, TPaw and Mitch. I could live with Bachmann, Cain, Santorum or West.
Poor Michael Medved. The #1 radio cheerleader for McCain last time can’t decide whether he wants to pimp for Huntsman, or for Daniels.
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