Though Mitt Romney dropped out of the 2008 presidential race in order to give John McCain a better shot, it looks like he is back and intending to run for 2012.
An article from The Ticket states “A new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds 60 percent of Republicans and self-described GOP independents hold a favorable view of Romney—a 5-point gain since January 2008, the height of the last election’s contentious GOP primary season. But the real improvement appears in Romney’s “unfavorable” numbers—which have shrunk from 38 percent in ‘08 to 21 percent today—and in his standing with conservatives.”
Not only is Romney’s support increasing, becoming roughly even with fellow possible candidate Mike Huckabee. And Sarah Palin’s negative viewing, according to the poll, is increasing as well. So as more people look to Romney to run, they look away from Palin. This can only be good news.
As one of the leading candidates along with McCain in the 2008 election, Romney might have a decent chance of winning, at least at the primary, if nothing else. Certainly more so than Palin, whose entrance into national politics hindered McCain along with the dragging economy that helped boost President Obama’s poll numbers.
Specifically regarding Palin, the poll states “37 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independent voters view the ex-Alaska governor negatively.”
At least she’s 11 points higher than Newt Gingrich. So where Huckabee didn’t have much of a chance last election, this time he, too, stands a chance at winning the primary. Of course, first these people have to officially run for the presidency. So far, it seems Donald Trump is acting the most serious about challenging Obama. For some reason, the most likely Republican candidates are balking on a straight answer of whether they’ll actually run or not.
It might seem foolish to worry about the Republicans finding a candidate to run when Obama will probably win, but this kind of hesitation is unusual for the GOP. Besides, the idea of an election is to express your opinion through your vote. If there aren’t any opposing candidates, how can America express its voting voice?
It might seem a stupid thing to worry about, especially as I’ll vote Libertarian, unless the Modern Whigs can front a candidate and get on the ballot. But a republic is founded on a constitution and elections. Both are vital to its stability and strength, and without one, the other can fail.
Whatever a Republican candidate’s poll numbers are, we need the most able and capable people to run for the office of president to help ensure the stability of our republic. Whatever the GOP is planning, it might want to work faster, before our choices for 2012 are Obama, Trump and Ralph Nader.
