Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer writes in his newest piece that the Republicans’ chances of winning the presidency depend upon issues, not personalities.
That’s a nice way of saying the GOP field is not very strong – an attitude that seems to becoming conventional wisdom.
Krauthammer is blunt: “The less attention the Republican candidate draws to him/herself, the better the chances of winning. To the extent that 2012 is about ideas, about the case for smaller government, Republicans have a decided edge. If it’s a referendum on the fitness and soundness of the Republican candidate — advantage Obama.”
What the GOP needs, he said, is a nominee that is “solid, stable, sober and, above all, not scary.”
If they achieve that, said Krauthammer, a caustic critic of the president, their best candidates’ odds of winning are only 5-1. Yes, 5-1.
A commentator on Fox News, Kauthammer said he doubts that Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee will run. Before he dropped out, he put Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour at 7-1.
Krauthammer puts Rep. Michele Bachmann’s odds at 20-1. Newt Gingrich is placed down at 12-1 because of his personal baggage. Donald Trump? He’s a “provocateur and a clown,” and his odds are stated this way: “The Lions have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl.”
As for Mitt Romney, he would be the prohibitive frontrunner if not for Massachusetts’ “Romneycare” system, which was the model for “Obamacare.” Because of that albatross around his neck,
“Romney is Secretariat at Belmont, but ridden by Minnesota Fats. He goes out at 5-1.”
“Romney is Secretariat at Belmont, but ridden by Minnesota Fats. He goes out at 5-1.”
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is described as a budget guru who exhibits “delightful dullness,” though his foreign policy views are unknown. “Alienated some conservatives with his call for a truce on — i.e., deferring — social issues. If he runs, 6-1.”
That leaves Tim Pawlenty, who served two terms as Minnesota governor, and has become “the mouse that roars. Up-tempo style (with) middle-of-the-road conservative content. Apparently baggageless. Could be the last man standing. 5-1.”
