tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post8104226550854793607..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: It's Easy To Believe You Can WinJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-59257813372695894832011-06-24T10:59:14.335-05:002011-06-24T10:59:14.335-05:00I always figured Huntsman was running for VP. If t...I always figured Huntsman was running for VP. If the GOP nominee is anyone buy Romney, then Huntsman seems a shoe-in for VP. <br /><br />He's the only "candidate" that isn't running hard to his right, which is good because once a nominee is selected, he or she will have to quickly moderate themselves for the general election, part of this is picking a VP candidate that's perceived as more moderate, safe, centrist than the candidate. After the Sarah Palin debacle I doubt the Republicans will make this mistake again, there is simply no political benefit to be had in choosing a VP who is designed to appeal to the base - they've already chosen you, screw them over alreadyJasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-36239977007173956142011-06-24T07:40:47.210-05:002011-06-24T07:40:47.210-05:00Earlier posts on this topic suggested that Huntsma...Earlier posts on this topic suggested that Huntsman will only hear positive assessments of his 2012 chances; I'm not sure I agree with that view. <br /><br />If I were a Huntsman supporter, before I dedicated my limited resources or time to his quest for the Presidency, I'd want some assurance that he understood the challenges of getting there in 2012, and that he was committed to seeing it through to 2016 (if necessary). Without such assurance, I am not sure I'd invest the time and money to build his Presidential brand.<br /><br />Therefore, 2016 almost certainly plays "some" role in Huntsman's 2012 activities. A large role? A small one? Whatever the correct answer, Team Huntsman must act as though 2016 plays <i>no</i> role in his current plans, for reasons that should be obvious upon brief reflection.<br /><br />Which makes this a perfect topic for academic discussion. Passionate arguments can be made all over the spectrum, and there's little chance of proving any of them wrong.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-40025882302731590202011-06-23T18:54:17.085-05:002011-06-23T18:54:17.085-05:00I have an untestable theory that your own plumline...I have an untestable theory that your own plumline post, bullish on Perry's chances should he run- in fact you had him as one of the few plausible nominees besides Romney and Pawlenty- persuaded Perry he could win.<br /><br />Disagree Huntsman would not run even if he expected to lose. He seems smart. He saw Romney and Huckabee leading every poll, which goes with McCain, Dole, Bush Sr and Reagan- all GOP presidential nominees on 2nd or 3rd try. And no doubt also saw Tea Party mobilizing to block moderates. Maybe he thought he could win in 2012 but just as likely he thought even if he wants to run in 2016, a losing race helps him for that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-32580161742264343742011-06-23T15:57:29.487-05:002011-06-23T15:57:29.487-05:00Bai is just super into being obviously wrong about...Bai is just super into being obviously wrong about everything, at least when writing about Huntsman. <a href="http://community.nytimes.com/comments/thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/why-all-the-scorn-for-huntsman/" rel="nofollow">Yesterday he complained</a> that the news media was treating Huntsman's campaign with "scorn." But the mainstream media is thrilled about Huntsman, it's *all they could talk about all day* -- even though he's polling around 1 percent and drew maybe a few dozen people to his announcement. <br /><br />Herman Cain, meanwhile, is polling around 17%, and had thousands of people at his announcement. But he didn't get front page coverage from CNN, the NYT, NPR, Time, USA Today, and Google News.reflectionephemeralhttp://poisonyourmind.comnoreply@blogger.com