And Then There Was One

I see little point in spending a lot of time reviewing the year just past.  Enough others are doing it.  I'm more interested in what the future will bring.

Every reasonable Republican candidate for President has had his/her moment of glory in Iowa except one.  Jon Huntsman.  Just who is this man?  If you don't know, you should. If you don't it is evidence of the flaws in our campaign finance laws - where a serious contender is left on the fringes because of money.  Or lack thereof.

There are other reasons, too, concerning Huntsman.  First of all, he is the most moderate of the candidates.  You know, the type likely to win in the general.  He doesn't believe in ethanol subsidies so why even try to play in Iowa?  He's not an evangelical, he's one of those dreaded Mormons.  His daughters are better known for their You Tube ditties than Dad is as a candidate.

So the question is, will he score high enough in New Hampshire to carry him on?  He has picked up some heavy duty endorsements in South Carolina but you'd have to scour the pages of the press to find them.

In reality he's the last man standing between Mitt and the nomination.  Strange, isn't it, they are both Mormons.  Remember when Catholics were as reviled?  The country didn't fall apart when we elected the first Catholic President.  In today's race both Santorum and Gingrich are Catholic.  So forget what religion a person chooses to follow.  It should be a personal issue anyway.

I could go on for some time on a number of topics, but instead I'll sum up what I expect to see in the near future.  Paul and Santorum will fade quickly. While Paul's ideas on isolationism sound nice, they aren't realistic.  People don't play as nice as he seems to think.  Santorum is too far right to appeal to the moderates and independents.

Perry and Bachmann should pack it in and pay off their debts.  Nice try but you can't fan a flame without at least a spark.

Gingrich may last through Florida but I'll be surprised.  Weeping over the memory of his Mother won't be the reason.  It will be his expedient hypocrisy.

Without a ground swell at the last minute, Huntsman  has too much ground to make up no matter how much  I'd love to see him do it.  I don't think he and Romney particularly like one another so I don't even see him in a strong cabinet position like Secretary of State.  I'd like to though.

My guess is rather than anyone but Mitt it's going to be Mitt rather than any one else!  We'll see if I'm right.

All I can say for sure going into 2012 is that I'll be as passionately opposed to Obama this cycle as I was for him the last time.

On that note, enjoy your New Years celebration. 2012 looms!