As unlikely as it may be at this late stage in the contest, seasoned Republicans who are very discontent with the GOP presidential contenders’ field are scrambling to come up with a viable candidate before the GOP’s National Convention in Tampa, Florida in August of 2012.
Unfortunately, the four remaining active candidates running for president on the GOP slate are having trouble igniting universal interest among the Republican’s notorious conservative base of voters.
Former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, has been considered the most hopeful of the current four by many, but even he is having trouble at the present time. In the state where he was born and where his father served as governor, he is currently polled in second place with Rick Santorum holding a marginal lead. The outlook for Romney is not promising. Though he has been of consistent interest to Republican voters, he lacks the spark that past presidents have been able to muster during their route to the White House. In a time when having extreme wealth is frowned upon by Americans, Romney shows his true colors. Those colors, of course, are green, greener, and the greenest – as in the almighty dollar.
Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich peaked in popularity at the end of 2011 and quickly plummeted in the polls after his strong showing and primary win in South Carolina. While Gingrich’s strong debating skills sky-rocketed him to the top of the polls in December, Romney’s negative ads – of which Romney has money for many – literally destroyed Gingrich’s image the next month.
U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, of Texas, has been labeled a libertarian – even by his most adamant supporters. While he has a strong following, it is not the type of following that ultimately follows a candidate to the White House because a true Republican is the candidate most Republicans will support. This doesn’t mean that a Ron Paul candidacy would cause Republicans to vote for President Barack Obama, but it could very possibly cause many Republicans, as well as independent voters, to sit this election out.
Former senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum, is the current leader in the GOP nominee race for president. While some are bothered by the fact that Santorum lost his last election in Pennsylvania, a past election loss would probably not be a great concern to voters. After all, former Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan are generational Republicans who have lost elections prior to becoming president. Having a loss in the past doesn’t bother most people. What tends to bother some potential Republican voters is the problem that many have developed with Romney. Santorum isn’t creating the spark that ignites a route to the White House. Santorum would definitely get the very conservative vote throughout the nation and could possibly get the extremely negative Obama part of the electorate, but – again – the spark to win the masses is just not there with his laid-back style.
So, the vocal politicians and pundits on the right side of the pendulum are quietly screaming for the right’s own ‘Obamessiah.’
At this time, the possible right-wing ‘Obamessiah’s’ are: Indiana’s Governor Mitch Daniels, New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie, Florida’s Governor Jeb Bush, and U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Daniels and Christie have repeatedly said that they will not run. Christie toyed with the idea for a time but ultimately said 'no.' If Christie or Daniels change their minds at this point, it will really be too late for them to be totally effective. As they flip-flop on whether or not they want the job or not, a negative impression of being a ‘flip-flopper’ is already being deeply set in a voter's mind.
Therefore, the GOP powers-that-be have two potential replacement candidates at this point in time, Jeb Bush and Paul Ryan.
Of the two, put your money on Bush.
First and foremost, he’s from a very influential state. He was the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Florida has been a presidential hopeful's killer - just ask Al Gore. Like the Bush presidents before Jeb Bush, he has a strong conservative following. His father, former President George Herbert Bush, and one of his brothers, former President George W. Bush, began the strong conservative following for him.
Unlike negative publicity for George W. Bush which professed that he wanted to be president to take care of the family's unfinished business - in relation to foreign affairs - Jeb Bush would not have that burdensome image holding him down.
Though George W. Bush, in particular, ended his presidency extremely unpopular, that should not impact Jeb Bush. After all, George W. Bush won in spite of his father’s defeat by Bill Clinton. How a relative’s political career ends obviously does not impact the success of the next family member who runs for office.
If former Governor Jeb Bush enters the race via extreme pressures from his Party, expect a more intense exchange between Republicans and Democrats than are now seen between any of the current four nominee-hopefuls and Barack Obama.
In recent months the cry for a GOP presidential candidate that can ignite interest in American conservatives has been suggested in postings by Fox and Politico.
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