Does Anyone Want to Be President?

Maybe Donald Trump should dedicate next season's Celebrity Apprentice to the Republican Presidential field, because so far, the contenders most likely to give Barack Obama a real race have declined to run. Top tier candidates Mike Huckabee and Mitch Daniels have already joined Trump in bowing out of the race, declining calls from Republicans who hope to use a skidding economy to propel themselves back into the White House. Huckabee, a social conservative darling who nearly captured the nomination in 2008, has long been considered a strong candidate for 2012. His social conservatism plays very well in Iowa, home of the first caucuses, allowing him to merely place or show in New Hampshire to carry his nomination forward to South Carolina. Daniels, the former Bush budget director, is the governor of Indiana and would have brought the pro-growth, economic heft that former campaigns received from the presence of Steve Forbes. Daniels will almost certainly be on the short list for Vice Presidential candidates, and given his reluctance to run for the top spot, will quickly take himself off the list. Trump is, and will likely remain, a clown with a desire to see himself in the media spotlight for another 15 minutes. He and his hair have made waves about possibly jumping back into the race if no viable candidate steps forward. Other candidates who have told the GOP “thanks, but no thanks” in recent months include Haley Barbour, who actually made a rather explicit play for racist voters before deciding to spend more time with his family, Senator John Thune (don't worry, most people have no idea who he is), and Representative Mike Pence. That leaves only a handful of declared candidates, including thrice-married Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, libertarian Ron Paul, and a former Godfather's Pizza CEO named Herman Cain. Waiting in the wings are, perhaps, some of the better candidates the GOP could choose from. Jeb Bush, the last Republican President's brother, is likable and significantly more intelligent than his sibling. Congressman Marco Rubio has been on the short list of Vice Presidential and Presidential lists ever since the party leadership figured out that he's a minority. And there are always the foot-in-mouth twins, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. They are both Tea Party darlings and favorites of party insiders who hope that female trumps African-American in a match-up of non-white-guys. Are you bored, a Republican, and 35 or older? Do you have access to your birth certificate, proving you're an American? Consider running for President now!