Huckabee, Romney, Palin Not Fit to Lead GOP
A big concern that Republicans have to address if they are to unseat President Obama in 2012 is that they do not have a candidate that can be the face of the party. Many polls have a generic Republican candidate running against Obama in a hypothetical presidential race, so choosing the right candidate can make a big difference.This leads to the question of who it should be. Politicians such as former governors Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Mitt Romney are the names thrown out for possible presidential contenders in 2012, but for varying reasons, none of them make the cut.
Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, has some fairly large blemishes on his record that do not make him the best option to be the face of the Republican Party. Although social conservatives have strongly favorable opinions of him, moderates are put off by his very religious views. A current CNN opinion poll has Huckabee trailing Obama by nine percentage points amongst 900 registered voters. Also, the clemency and pardon controversies have left scarred Huckabee.
Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is also not the best person to be the face of the GOP come 2012. Like Huckabee, Romney significantly trails Obama in opinion polls. Romney was accused during the 2008 presidential campaign of changing his political views on many social issues, although he always opposed same-sex marriage. As governor, Romney implemented a health care law that requires all Massachusetts citizens to buy health insurance. This reform is looked upon unfavorably by conservatives, which hurt his chances to win over the base of the Republican Party. His religion is also viewed in an unfavorable light.
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, is perhaps the worst candidate to lead the Republican Party. Although many conservative have favorable opinions of Palin, she trails Obama by thirteen percentage points. Sixty nine percent of voters claim that Palin is not qualified to be president. Her frequent gaffs on the campaign trail in addition to the common perception that she is unintelligent make her a poor candidate to lead Republicans in 2012
Huckabee, Romney, and Palin are therefore all bad choices to lead the Republican Party. Republicans need to find a candidate who has not been severely scarred by the media and past legislation, much like Obama during his campaign for the presidency. Once Republicans can find an unblemished, charismatic candidate to be the face of their party, they will have a strong chance to unseat Obama in 2012.