Here, as promised yesterday, is a bonus Thursday posting, a column by veteran political reporter John Mashek. The News Guy himself will return tomorrow.

By John W. Mashek

WASHINGTON–Not even six months into the Obama administration and Republican  wannabes are already lining up to run against the president in 2112. If the economy does not improve by next year, Obama will be in trouble although the GOP”s potential field is hardly a potent one for now.

The lineup so far is: Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Haley Barbour  and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. There must be something in the water in Hoosierland. (My apologies to anyone I’ve missed.) Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Sen. John Ensign of Nevada were two other potential candidates but they had other things on their mind. Doubt we will see them in Iowa or New Hampshire any time soon as they reportedly try to repair their marriages. Their reputations are already ruined as holier than thou lawmakers.

Romney rates as the current favorite. He was the last man standing against John McCain in 2008 and Republicans admire those challengers who have been through the fire before. Those names include Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and McCain. Romney has the money, the organization and the burning ambition to earn the favorite’s spot. After all he won election  as governor In Massachusetts a shining blue state. (Perhaps some Republicans would like to see one strand of Romney’s hair out of place in public but that is Mitt’s persona).

Huckabee ran in 2008 and got a bunch Southern votes. But the former governor of Arkansas goes overboard with his corn pone appeal and Republicans are already a regional party so why look to Dixie?

Palin’s surprise resignation as governor of Alaska only reinforced her strange brand of politics. While she has a host of right wing believers, Democrats must be praying that the GOP will nominate her. They would only have to weigh the votes, not count them. Gingrich, the former House speaker, has several strikes against him including unethical behavior while in office and cheating on two wives. Family values seem to escape the fellow from Georgia.

Barbour is a nice guy, but the Mississippi governor  is a former big time lobbyist in Washington and the state’s racist history isn’t helpful.  Fair or not, Barbour would have to deal from  the home state of Theodore Bilbo, Ross Barnett, Jim Eastland and other racists.

Further, the party’s leadership in Congress is charismatically challenged. Even Republicans in Congress are disappointed with them. In a National Journal magazine survey of GOP insiders, unnamed fellow party members were critical of the performances of Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, House minority leader and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader.

Perhaps the name of Obama’s ultimate challenger is still a relative unknown. In the other party, Sen. Barak Obama of Illinois was a rookie senator when he announced his bid on a freezing winter day in Springfield. Journalists questioned his wisdom against a field of veterans, including then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Obama is now enjoying the view of the Rose Garden from the Oval Office.

(Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades and is a long time friend of the vermontnewsguy.)

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 12:04 am and is filed under Politics & Elections, Schools, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.