For GOP Presidential Nomination: Who?

OK at this time in 2007 we Democrats had some solid candidates running for the Democratic nomination for an election to be held just over 22 months later on. As I recall we had Barack Obama and John Edwards with their hats in the ring. Yes it was early but it seemed to be common wisdom at the time that getting a nomination was going to be almost a full-time job from now on.

So then, where are the GOP candidates? Who has declared their candidacy?

Only the crickets are speaking up, for now at least.

All we know is who is not running. At this point Indiana congressman Mike Pence says that he is not going to honor the Tea Party by being its presidential standard bearer, having rebuffed both Dick Armey, who heads up the Teabagger front organization FreedomWorks, and those who voted for him – a majority no less -= at the Value Voters Summit.

Pence says he wants to be Governor of Indiana.

Then there’s Mike Huckabee, the darling of the Christian Right. One thing about Huckabee, he will always get the evangelical vote, and he is still polling an always faithful 21% come rain or shine. Or 24%, depending on which poll you are willing to believe. But has Huckabee said anything?

Or Mitt Romney. I keep telling my LDS acquaintances that Mitt Romney will never be the nominee if the Evangelical Right has any say in the matter. They are unusually rabid about Romney’s religion. It works in Massachusetts where evangelicals are in the vast minority, but in the American heartland? Forget it. Still, Romney has not given it up because he finds himself in New Hampshire a lot lately. Guessing, I imagine that he has a home court advantage over his competitors in this early primary so important for the illusion of momentum.

Or Tim Pawlenty? Yawn.

Huckabee, Romney and Pawlenty. Geez. That’s the mainstream selection so far.

The Tea Party is going to be the fun one to watch. They are still courting Jim DeMint, who has yet to pull a Mike Pence and slam the door on the possibility, and unbelievably, Sharron Angle hasn’t ruled out running for President.

Yeah, that Sharron Angle.

Sarah Palin still won’t go away, even though she now has discovered the acronym WTF. You know, WTF = Winning The Future. This perennial candidate brings presidential campaigning to a level so low, you might say her political vision is subsea. She is a non-entity now, just as Michelle Bachmann has rendered herself a “poor man’s Sarah Palin” according to the daughter of Senator John McCain, Palin’s running mate.

So, barring some unknown dark horse, the 2012 Presidential Election GOP Primary season is really shaping up for a real barn-burner. And the person that emerges from it beating the flames out with his or her hands is going to have a party unification issue that we haven’t seen for a long, long time.