Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, infamous for promoting divisiveness and extreme partisanship during his four years in power from 1995-1999, and also well known for hypocrisy in pursuing Bill Clinton on the Monica Lewinsky scandal when he was himself involved in an extramarital affair, has indicated his interest in pursuing the Presidency in 2012.
Gingrich would certainly add intelligence and his articulate manner of speaking and presenting ideas, were he to enter the race, but it is hard to imagine that a person with his shady reputation could actually unite the GOP and overcome President Obama in a 2012 matchup.
However, he would certainly be more interesting than many of the others on the long list of potential GOP hopefuls. By indicating his interest this early, it makes it seems likely that the Republicans will start the pursuit to replace Barack Obama earlier than ever, meaning there will be no respite from Presidential politics. For a political junkie like myself, however, who can complain? :) LOL
The lessons of the past few presidential elections does not bode well for the first person to throw his hat in the ring (from either party) – So my suggestion is Go Newt Go! I would love to see a republican primary that involved Newt vs. Palin vs Huckabee.
History also suggests that the republicans will eventually nominate the #2 candidate from the previous primary, Mitt Romney. If I was to bet on it, I would put my money on Mitt to win the nomination in 2012 simply because the republicans are getting older, and therefore less likely to change their habit of nominating the #2 after a failed general election.
I have no worries about Obama in four years, I worry about 2016 – when the dems have no heir apparent. I cannot even think of who will be the front-runner in 8 years. Biden will be to old, so will Hillary. John Edwards is a possibility, however I don’t think his scandal will permit it. We need a new young star to shine right now and start building a presidential resume. If I were Obama’s adviser, I would suggest picking his eventual replacement this year and giving him Sec. Gates job at DoD when Gates resigns in one year. Possibly promoting him to VP in 4 years. This will give the new young star 3 or 7 years to build his Commander in Chief credentials as well as give him huge influence on the Military industrial complex and on the hill.
I’m pretty sure that if my congressman, Kendrick Meek (FL-17), wins his senate bid in 2010, he will run for pres in 2016, but I don’t like his chances on succeeding Obama. He is a loyal Dem with more than a 99% party voting record and Obama has shown him much love throughout the campaign and over the past few months.
Our esteemed Gov. Charlie Christ is the most likely Republican nominee in 2016 if Obama wins re-election in 4 years. Everything he’s doing right now says "I want to be President" and he’s gonna take a pass on the 2012 race. He will be on the short list for Rep VP candidate in four years, but I’m not sure if he will refuse or accept. I think it will depend on who’s at the top of the ticket. If he does run, he will be the toughest republican candidate since Reagan or Ike. He’s got a Teflon approval rating, seen as a moderate centrist, he’s intelligent, highly religious, pro-business, and when he wants to he can be tough and strong. This is the scenario that scares me about 2016. Unknown Dem vs. Charlie Christ.