"We do not need to panic or worry or fret. We simply need to flesh out all of these candidates."
I don't want to be the doomsayer- really I don't. But I am a pragmatist and a realist. And there really ISN'T a lot of time in the context of this election cycle in particular.
Why? Because now we've got something like 20 states, including California and New York and Illinois having primaries in early February. Do you know how much money it takes to run competitively in those huge early races? And the big 3 of Rudy, McCain and Romney are already picking up the big donors.
In the old days, maybe a Duncan Hunter could make a splash in the Iowa or New Hampshire primaries and then get a big fundraising boost. But this year it will be too late. The primary is going to be decided on Super Tuesday very soon after the early primaries. You've got to raise the money much earlier this election, and there's no way a Duncan Hunter can create the buzz he needs. No way that I can envision anyway. I honestly don't ever recall seeing the guy talk on tv- the media ignores him. I wouldn't know his voice if I heard it.
So Hunter may be the best candidate in the world, but he's not going to be able to raise the money to truly compete on Super Tuesday.