Let’s get ready to rumble…

With the Iowa Caucuses less than a year away, many have been wondering who the GOP will select to enter the political ring against the reigning champ.

President Obama won the race as a freshman senator from Illinois. There is no reason why a relatively obscure politician from the right side of the aisle cannot do the same.

News sources report that there are eleven candidates that are either considering running or who have already committed to the race. Top Contenders include Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

This editorial will examine the candidates’ attributes as well as their flaws.

Meet the possible contenders:
Michele Bachmann is a third term Congresswoman from Minnesota who founded the House Tea Party caucus in response to President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address. She advocates for lower taxes for families and small businesses, is a staunch advocate for repealing President Obama’s health care legislation and as a foster mother of 23 children she is vehemently pro-life.

Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty is the rookie in the bunch. The season is looking bright for Pawlenty as he recently announced he had formed a presidential exploratory committee and has already began fundraising. As governor, Pawlenty has been able to significantly reduce his state’s debt.

“Join the team and, together, we’ll restore America,” Pawlenty said as he announced his Presidential exploratory committee on March 12, 2011.

Former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, is doing quite well with his news program on Fox. Although he emerged victorious in the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, many in the conservative movement think it is unlikely that he will run in 2012.

Huckabee has announced that he will not make an official announcement until summer of 2011.

“I’m thinking very carefully. I’m very seriously considering making a run for it,” Huckabee said on Good Morning America.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Georgia native, Newt Gingrich, has a proven track record of alluding to a possible presidential race and then subsequently backing out. His three marriages and extra marital affairs have proven to be somewhat of a problem for the social conservative voter base. Multiple marriages and affairs provide a blemish on his name that even the most skilled of public relations teams would find hard to overcome.

“We will look at this very seriously and we will very methodically lay out the framework of what we’ll do next, Gingrich said in his exploratory phase announcement in Georgia on March 9, 2011.

Will she or won’t she? This question is on the minds of conservatives across the nation. Sarah Palin has alluded to a presidential run but has not confirmed or denied anything.

“I’m looking at the lay of the land now, and … trying to figure that out, if it’s a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family,” Palin told ABC’s Barbara Walters.

Former govenor of Massachusettes, Mitt Romney has given vague answers as to whether or not he will run.

“I haven’t made a decision yet as to what we’re going to do. That decision will be made sometime down the road, but I can tell you that I’m very drawn to the fact that this country needs someone who has private sector experience, because this economy is troubled,” Romney said.

The general consensus is that Romney is not likely to get very far in the primaries because he voted in favor for Obama’s healthcare reform.

“In a hypothetical 2012 matchup, Huckabee leads Obama 52 – 44 percent, while Romney has a 50-45 point advantage, which is within the poll’s sampling error. Obama holds a 49-47 percent margin over Gingrich,” an article by the CNN political unit said. The article was dated two days after the 2010 midterm election.

Political races are like weather; they are only but so predictable. One thing remains for certain, the GOP nominee for president will be in for the match of his or her life.

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