# Handicapping the 2012 GOP presidential nomination **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 12, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160 "2011-02-12T21:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/381 "2011-05-28T22:27:24Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I was reading the new front runner is Giuliani. When you have a front runner ,a parrot that squawks 911 over and over , it shows what a terrible selection you have. He has many scandals to explain if his ego allows him to join the 7 dwarfs. “Noun, verb, 9-11”? His chance of winning anything went out the window the moment that bullet went through Bin Laden’s head. He’ll be in town on a public speaking tour, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/382 "2011-05-28T23:00:37Z")
Big Giulli is sub-Johnson as a candidate. Strictly political cat barf. Crane ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/383 "2011-05-29T14:01:46Z")
Rudi’s back for another shot after coming ever so close to winning last time. Maybe he didn’t skip enough states last time. Palin is apparently going to run her campaign with a bus tour and a movie and without traditional campaigning operations and without talking to the liberal (everyone but FOX) media who might try to trick her by asking her about Africa without specifying Africa the country or Africa the continent. And the neo-secessionist Perry wants to take over the government he so abhors. What kind of bizarro freak show is this? ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/384 "2011-05-31T11:49:09Z")
The Republican party. Crane ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/385 "2011-05-31T12:05:15Z")
Is Palin actually going to be on the bus this time? ISTR that last time her bus tour involved her flying between destinations and pretending to have been on the bus. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/386 "2011-05-31T12:56:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Is Palin actually going to be on the bus this time? ISTR that last time her bus tour involved her flying between destinations and pretending to have been on the bus. I dunno, but a campaign bus tour where she doesn’t really have a campaign and she’s not really riding the bus seems like something someone could write a good philosophy dissertation on. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/387 "2011-05-31T13:40:29Z")
I don’t know… Maybe she’s some kind of genius after all. This non-media, unannounced tour has got the media in a tizzy, and she’s getting far more press coverage than she probably would have gotten had she done the traditional tour thing. I have no idea what she’s up to, but I have to admit she’s got a certain style. Biking into ‘Rolling Thunder’ on the back of a hog may not be presidential, but it’s entertaining. She certainly knows how to keep herself in the spotlight. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/388 "2011-05-31T15:20:02Z")
That’s not a skill. If all else fails, she can always get her tits out, but I don’t think anyone would argue that Christy Canyon is media-savvy. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/389 "2011-05-31T15:48:42Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t know… Maybe she’s some kind of genius after all. This non-media, unannounced tour has got the media in a tizzy. What do you mean by “tizzy?” I haven’t noticed much more than cursory coverage of it. Palin has become sort of a has-been actually. She does not generate the interest that she did a couple of years ago. Even most conservatives have lost interest in her. The biking thing would be something if there was anything authentic or genuine about it, but there isn’t. She’s not a biker, that was just a contrived populist pose. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/390 "2011-05-31T16:05:24Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t know… Maybe she’s some kind of genius after all. This non-media, unannounced tour has got the media in a tizzy, and she’s getting far more press coverage than she probably would have gotten had she done the traditional tour thing. > > I have no idea what she’s up to, but I have to admit she’s got a certain style. Biking into ‘Rolling Thunder’ on the back of a hog may not be presidential, but it’s entertaining. She certainly knows how to keep herself in the spotlight. This is true. There is something to say for that. Unfortunately, there’s not much substance once questions get asked. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/391 "2011-05-31T16:54:03Z")
[James Howard Kunstler Godwinizes Sarah Palin. Perfectly.](http://kunstler.com/blog/2011/05/memorial-day-enter-hitler-release-20.html)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/392 "2011-05-31T17:36:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > James Howard Kunstler So… where are those gas riots JHK was predicting for oh I think it was 2005 or so? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/393 "2011-06-01T14:59:04Z")
[Jim DeMint says he’s considering jumping into 2012 race](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20067894-503544.html) Add another one to handicap for the nomination. Crowded out at the Teabagger fringe with kinda/might/maybe runners. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/394 "2011-06-01T16:05:07Z")
A field of kinda/might/maybe folks running non-campaigns - wierd! Crane ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/395 "2011-06-01T16:14:56Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Discipline? - Perhaps you’d like to compare her campaign to that of Gingrich. Why? I think Palin’s got a chance (albeit a remote one), given the field, of winning the GOP nomination. I pretty loudly said in this forum that I thought Gingrich had no chance whatsoever. I agree that Gingrich ran a less disciplined campaign (yeah, past tense IMHO) than Palin is running, but you’ll notice the inequalities are running in the same direction here. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/396 "2011-06-01T16:44:01Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Regan was a centerist. Some highlights. > Raised taxes 11 times in 8 years. > Union President and member. > Passed MediCal while Governor. > Raised taxes in California. > Tripled the Federal Budget deficit. > Massively grew the size of the Federal Government > Liberalized abortion laws while Governor. > Granted amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants. > > So, Yes Reagan. Reagan was a centrist by the standards of _now_. But if you consider the GOP as of 1980, and [who was actually running for its Presidential nomination that year](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29_presidential_primaries,_1980#Candidates), Reagan was at the right end of the spectrum, excepting possibly Rep. Phil Crane who almost nobody noticed was running. His main rivals were Bush the Elder, comfortably to Reagan’s left (at least, until Reagan selected him as his running mate), and John Anderson, _way_ to Reagan’s left. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/397 "2011-06-01T16:44:32Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t know… Maybe she’s some kind of genius after all. This non-media, unannounced tour has got the media in a tizzy, and she’s getting far more press coverage than she probably would have gotten had she done the traditional tour thing. > > I have no idea what she’s up to, but I have to admit she’s got a certain style. Biking into ‘Rolling Thunder’ on the back of a hog may not be presidential, but it’s entertaining. She certainly knows how to keep herself in the spotlight. Every day that goes by, I increasingly think she could run, could win the nomination, and even win the general. Whether by design or luck or both, it’s increasingly apparent that she knows how to go around the media better than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/398 "2011-06-01T17:39:39Z")
The latest PPP Iowa caucus poll puts John Huntsman’s support at 1. [Not 1%, just 1](http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/05/jon-huntsmans-supporter.html). Guy has some ground to make up before the Primary. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/399 "2011-06-01T18:37:29Z")
Out of how many respondents? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160/400 "2011-06-01T18:43:26Z")
[Jim DeMint backtracks on potential presidential run](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20067894-503544.html) Perhaps a near record for changing a maybe/kinda/almost leap into the fray? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapping-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination/571160.md?page=21)