# Early Republican Straw Poll: Who do you want to run against Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609 "2009-10-13T01:32:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/21 "2009-10-13T18:21:47Z")
Kay Bailey Hutchinson ought to be on that list, unless she’s explicitly said “hell no”. EDIT: Sorry, I’m not hoping to see Obama defeated so my vote should not count. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/22 "2009-10-13T18:24:05Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > Any way to add choices? I’ve certainly heard Newt Gingrich being mentioned I’m fairly certain Newt mutters something about running for President just to keep himself politically relevant enough to keep getting invited onto talk shows. He did the same thing during the last election cycle, I don’t think he’s seriously considering it (or would get very far, if he ran). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/23 "2009-10-13T18:34:38Z")
Palin is an idiot. I would rather see Newt Gingrich than any of the choices in the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/24 "2009-10-14T01:53:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Added David Petreaus for you. Couldn’t change order of names-sorry. Can I please change my poll vote to Petreaus please? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/25 "2009-10-14T02:12:15Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Kay Bailey Hutchinson ought to be on that list, unless she’s explicitly said “hell no”. I don’t think anyone has expressed a wish that Hutchison run. > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Can I please change my poll vote to Petreaus please? I’m pretty sure once you’ve voted, that’s it. Also, Petraeus isn’t going to run. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/26 "2009-10-14T02:14:14Z")
I’ll be surprised if Jeb Bush doesn’t at least flirt with a run. Neal Bush would be more fun, though. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/27 "2009-10-14T02:46:15Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Can I please change my poll vote to Petreaus please? It’s noted. I don’t think it can be edited in, though. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/28 "2009-10-14T13:30:46Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I’ll be surprised if Jeb Bush doesn’t at least flirt with a run. Neal Bush would be more fun, though. He’s already turned down the NFL commissionership and a run at a Senate seat he probably could have won without even trying. Jeb might be the most popular Republican of all among minorities, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/29 "2009-10-14T14:02:57Z")
You know those Presidents who have an embarrassing brother, like Bill Clinton with Roger, and Jimmy Carter with Billy? In the Bush family, it was like a mixup happened and the embarrassing brother got elected by mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/30 "2009-10-14T15:15:49Z")
The question is whether people will still hold George against Jeb. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/31 "2009-10-14T15:26:41Z")
I wouldn’t hold W against him, but I will always hold Schiavo against him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/32 "2009-10-14T15:27:52Z")
Meh. He basically did as little to intervene as he possibly could without earning the scorn of the religious right; he knew all along that Terri’s Law was never going to hold up in court. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/33 "2009-10-14T20:17:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I voted before I read the question properly, and since I don’t necessarily want Obama out of office I wasn’t supposed to vote. > > I picked Jindal, though. Ah, you **really** don’t want Obama out of office, do you? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/34 "2009-10-15T12:47:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I voted before I read the question properly, and since I don’t necessarily want Obama out of office I wasn’t supposed to vote. > > I picked Jindal, though. same here, I voted for Palin because I would like a second chance to spot the diffrence between Tina Fay and Sara Palin, so you can scrap my vote ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/35 "2009-10-15T15:42:13Z")
I’m a Republican, but I think Palin would be even more polarizing than Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/36 "2009-10-15T18:13:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I’m kind of surprised at the numbers for Palin. I too wonder if those are all Republicans or if some Dems are tampering with the numbers. I thought I might get more honest results if I kept the voting anonymous, but now I’m second guessing the wisdom of that. I’ll come clean: I’m an Obama supporter and I clicked on Palin. _Then_ I read your OP stating you only wanted responses from those who would oppose Obama. I did not intentionally try to mess with your results, and I apologize. That said, I think Huckabee _might_ be a decent choice for the Repubs, but his religious fundamentalism would probably work against him. I don’t think much of Romney’s chances; he was pretty severely trounced in the last primaries, wasn’t he? Palin would just be a joke, which was why I voted that way, in a _Please-let-it-be-Palin, Please-let-it-be-Palin_ kind of way. I don’t think there’s a viable candidate on your list, actually. I predict the 2012 Republican nominee will be none of the above. I have no idea who, but I’d guess someone who’s not yet getting much notice and will see a chance within the next year or two to win back the moderate conservative base that the party has been ignoring in favor of the extreme right-wingers. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/37 "2009-10-15T18:42:19Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I don’t think there’s a viable candidate on your list, actually. I predict the 2012 Republican nominee will be none of the above. I have no idea who, but I’d guess someone who’s not yet getting much notice and will see a chance within the next year or two to win back the moderate conservative base that the party has been ignoring in favor of the extreme right-wingers. Pawlenty and Crist both seem viable. Agree with you about the others, though. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/38 "2009-10-15T18:44:55Z")
I think it might end up being Pawlenty, just because of his sheer blandness. He’s not a Mormon, or an idiot, fundamentalist hockey mom, or a demon fighter,or a Bush or Newt Gingrich. I don’t think Petraeus is going to run, but he’d be a political neophyte anyway, and he’s yet to be publicly vetted. I think Pawlenty might prevail just by being safe and conventional, and not hitting any hot buttons. He will lose miserably in the General, but I think he can get the Republican nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/39 "2009-10-15T18:48:39Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Pawlenty and Crist both seem viable. Agree with you about the others, though. Crist is _not_ viable, at least not in the Republican primaries. See above. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609/40 "2009-10-15T19:07:43Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Crist is _not_ viable, at least not in the Republican primaries. See above. There was a thread about it a long time ago, and at the time, the evidence that he’s gay seems to be pretty non-existent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-republican-straw-poll-who-do-you-want-to-run-against-obama/513609.md?page=3)