Poor George Will – not entirely clueless but not quite comprehending the current state of the Republican party. He recognizes there are snake salesman like Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich who are influential in the Republican party and that they could have a negative impact.
Let us not mince words. There are at most five plausible Republican presidents on the horizon – Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Utah governor and departing ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, former Massachusetts governor Romney and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.
So the Republican winnowing process is far advanced. But the nominee may emerge much diminished by involvement in a process cluttered with careless, delusional, egomaniacal, spotlight-chasing candidates to whom the sensible American majority would never entrust a lemonade stand, much less nuclear weapons.
I’m not sure why he left Sarah Palin out of his discussion – has he forgotten Christine O’Donnell and Sharon Angle? I’m not really sure that Will’s “plausible candidates” are all that plausible – Haley Barbour, the redneck lobbyist is plausible? I suspect that George Will is smart enough to realize that the lunatic fringe that shows up for the primaries is quite capable of nominating a Huckabee or a Palin and that’s what he is really worried about. Yes George, the GOP has been taken over by the snake oil salesmen that appeal to the lunatic fringe that the Republican party has been courting since lee Attwater’s “southern strategy” and now the chickens are coming home to roost.
Ron can also be found at Newshoggers.