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2012 Busts Wide Open
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New polls in the wake of Governor Tim Pawlenty’s apparent decision to focus on a 2012 run show that the GOP field, from Palin to Huckabee, has leveled. The Daily Beast shows who’s up and who’s down.
Much like the landscape going into 2008, polls show a crowded field for the Republican nomination, with no clear favorite emerging and several big names floundering early on. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty set off a wave of speculation about his presidential ambitions after he announced this week that he would not run for re-election, but he’s hardly the only potential candidate boosting his profile in recent months. Here’s a look at the top 10 candidates and what they’ve been doing to set themselves apart from the crowd.
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Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
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Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
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Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
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Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
Samuel P. Jacobs is a staff reporter at The Daily Beast. He has also written for The Boston Globe, The New York Observer, and The New Republic Online.
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Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
Tim Pawlenty is denying his state of a US Senator by refusing to certify the election. Won't voters resent his partisan services at the expense of the public will expressed in an election?
Newt, Palin, and Jeb would each be a gift from providence for Democrats--a dimwit, a gasbag and a fat little brother.
Huckabee's charm has worn off. You can't pander as something new when your act has grown old.
We don't know yet whether Democrats deserve a gift from anybody in 2012. Thank goodness, it is a long time away.
The election results have not been determined.
The Nov '08 election had Coleman in the lead then Franken by law could ask for a recount. After a recount, a not so simple process, Franken had a slight lead. Coleman is contesting the legalities of the ecount procedures - which the Minnesota Supreme Court will decide. These things take time. The process is working.
Patience, dear, patience.
Watch out for Ron Paul again...and his younger protege, Gary Johnson. Not that the Republican Party will ever listen to them -- but it's about damn time.
Visit michaelslevinson.com and then you might consider what will happen when the hundreds of unique visitors every month become thousands.
Eric Cantor for 2016...mark my words
I will mark them WRONG with a red pen.
Why am I the only one who things Pawlenty would do better nationally to certify Coleman? Democrats are not the only Americans who find it offensive that GOP "leadership"is more concerned with obstructionism than the very principle that the person with the most votes wins.
Well, Coleman did have the most votes. Since it was so close, by law, Franken had the option of demanding a recount, which he did.
So, why don't you just have some patience and let the Minnesotans have their election.
The rest of the country can just wait, thank you.
Pawlenty is GOVERNOR of Minnesota and he will certify the results when the Minnesota election process is complete, which it isn't .
The Governor's duty is to the citizens of Minnesota. Not some national opinion poll or popularity contest.
It was Minnesota law that required the recount. It was not Franken's to request. Coleman has been charged with repaying Franken's legal fees by the board of elections.
Imagine the frightening thought of
Sarah Palin talkin' all folksy-like
in front of those students in Cairo.
Huckabee has no shot with his
Gomer Pyle-like persona.
Mark Sanford is a winner, a true capitialist,
but has the charisma of Huckleberry Hound.
Romney understands business, but comes
off phoney. Who could forget Romney
visiting the African American kids and
embarrassingly busting into "who let the dogs out,"
trying to be "so down" with his peeps.
Ugh !
Gingrich seems most experienced to debate Obama,
but Newt's recent "racist" label of Sotomayor
looks foolish, and he's recycled.
Bobby Jindal is a smart guy who doesn't command
attention. Speaks too softly and is very awkward.
Well, good luck.
Well, Hillary and Obama also put on the phony "so down" act, too. So don't be so hard on these guys.
Sarah Palin is the genuine article. If you hate her that is your problem, not hers.
Yeah, she's a genuine hypocrite, and a genuine idiot, not to mention a genuinely lousy mother who was too busy making dumb policies against teenage sex ed. while her own daughter was busy getting knocked up. If you're into hypocrites and idiots, that's your problem. However, there are counselors standing by somewhere for people like you.
jsdc007:
Wow, 'bout time we heard from the town busybody and gossip monger.
Thank you.
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