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Bobby Jindal for Pres? Get real.

Now that the election is officially over, (oh wait…) the pundits have begun speculating who will take the GOP reins in 2012. (Because you guys are all sick, I tell ya!) Some (notably, one of my personal favorite columnists, Jonathan … Read More

By / October 30, 2008

Now that the election is officially over, (oh wait…) the pundits have begun speculating who will take the GOP reins in 2012. (Because you guys are all sick, I tell ya!)

Some (notably, one of my personal favorite columnists, Jonathan Chait) have suggested that the party will turn to Sarah Palin. And more recently a squabble has broken out between Christopher Orr (another fave) and Ross Douthat about whether Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal will prevail. Certain die hard Romney fans think the Mittster should be given another chance.

Oh, come on, guys! Am I the only one who has figured out who the 2012 GOP nominee will be?

It’ll be General David Howell Petraeus.

That comes, of course, with a lot of caveats. Lord only knows if he has any interest in the job. (Like Sherman he might say "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve.") And I haven’t the faintest idea whether he has any political skills. (He might turn out to be too much of a loose cannon like Douglas MacArthur.) But from what I’ve seen of him, he doesn’t look like too big of a nut. If he can be persuaded to run on the Republican ticket I think he’ll strike most Americans as Dwight Eisenhower-like. And I think it will set a fire under Republicans. (In fact, before McCain clinched it earlier this year, I half-thought the party elders might arrange for him to swoop into the primaries and engineer a nomination.)

Just remember: You heard it here first.

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  • Rob

    "..that’s sort of what I’ve been hearing on the networks"

    If Obama does win, that statement will be the reason why.

    Turn off the TV and expand your sources of information.

    This neo-con does not live in fear of an Obama victory but an Islamofascist victory.

    That’s the difference between you and me. I don’t see you as the enemy; you see me as the enemy. And that’s a tragedy.

  • Rob

    “Now that the election is officially over”

    Leave it to a “progressive” to decide the election before the unwashed masses have their say on Election Day.

    To each his own but why risk looking like a total horse’s ass if your wrong.

  • Michael Weiss

    No, this was when Klein was first writing about the surge and trying to account for Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy.

     

  • Max Gross

    Was Klein suggesting that Petraeus run for POTUS, or was he just saying he was more inclined to be a Democrat? Because if it’s the first, I stand corrected. Didn’t know somebody had beaten me to the punch.

    It’s funny — before Eisenhower ran on the GOP ticket he was courted by the Democrats. Might be the same with Petraeus. It’s very valid to wonder if he’s (a) a Republican and (b) has any interest in politics — but if I were a top dog with the RNC, I’d start taking him out to lunch.

  • Michael Weiss

    It was Joe Klein who suggested, two years ago, that Petraeus hails from the "Democratic" establishment of military thinking (i.e. heavy on community-building, peacekeeping). Does that make him a Dem? Even if it doesn’t, there’s no indication that he wants the job….Though he would make the best pick, particuarly having served as Obama’s commander in Afghanistan.