OK, Christie's not running--now what? Here's my take based on my judgment of the electability of each candidate in the 2012 general election (I am neither a Republican nor Democrat):
Michele Bachmann: “tip of the spear” and Tea Party darling, but—unelectable;
Herman Cain: a bona fide businessman and former Chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; has proposed the best plan yet (“9,9,9”)—electable;
Newt Gingrich: knowledgeable, but has too much baggage—unelectable;
Jon Huntsman: absolutely the best of this bunch—former Governor, Ambassador to China, CEO, etc., but isn’t getting any real traction and looks “out of the running” (he would be a great VP or Secretary of State);
Gary E. Johnson: who is he?—unelectable;
Ron Paul: principled libertarian but—unelectable;
Rick Perry: career politician, crony capitalist, has real problems on immigration and social security issues that probably make him—unelectable;
Mitt Romney: former Governor (of Massachusetts), former CEO, has pristine leadership credentials and qualities, can hold his own in any venue (domestic or foreign)--a little known fact is that Mitt, thanks to his Mormon upbringing, lived for a while in France and speaks fluent French—he has the highest electability in this group in a 2012 general election; in fact, Mitt is the only one (other than Obama) also running a general campaign while seeking the nomination (he’s keeping his eye on the “prize”);
Rick Santorum: why is he running?—unelectable.
Accordingly, my recommendation to my Republican friends is: a Romney/Cain ticket for 2012.
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