Thinking About 2012
By Justin Gardner summarizes Newsweek’s numbers:
If John McCain is not elected president, which one of the following three possible candidates would you be most likely to support for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012?
Romney: 35%
Huckabee: 26%
Palin: 20%
This doesn’t really surprise me; Romney’s perceived strength on economic matters probably makes him the most compelling candidate to Republicans right now. Nevertheless, I would be kind of surprised to see Romney get the 2012 nomination. First, I have some doubt that Palin will actually run. Second, I suspect that, even if Palin does run, Huckabee will be the candidate to beat. He was the only Republican to actually improve his image during the primary campaign, and he now has a Fox News platform with which to connect to the base. Most importantly, he’s insanely likable; I watched his show the other day and couldn’t help but to identify with him. It’s fair to say that neither Mitt nor Sarah score high on the likability quotient.
Of course, the fact that John McCain has an enormous lead in California makes this entirely moot…