Shouldn't we start hearing a load of GOP POTUS candidates announcing soon?

[KansasVoter]

I thought it would start by now!

[DontTreadOnMe]

1. I heard Sarah was going to announce her bid via Twitter

no questions from the lamestream that way :)

[KansasVoter]

2. I pray she does, entertainment factor alone!

[RagAss]

3. A "Load" indeed.

[CTyankee]

25. GOP candidate "pant-load"!!!

LOVE it!

[opihimoimoi]

4. They are playing the WAIT CARD....not too early, not too lame

[elzenmahn]

21. They want somebody unexpected...

...that they think the Dems don't have much preparation against.

This talk about Palin running is but a mere distraction, and the Repubs know it. So is Romney - Reaganesque, but a lot of the ideas in the new Health Care law came from his approach in Massachusetts. They want them out there so they can bring in a "dark horse" closer to election time.

My prediction? Forget Palin or Romney. New Jersey's Chris Christie might make a run at it, and given his popularity numbers, may give Obama a run for his money. They guy that worries me, though, is Mike Pence, A VERY SKILLED debater who could likely go toe-to-toe with Obama.

I would start researching Christie and Pence NOW, if I were the Democratic National Committee or Obama's Campaign Manager.

[opihimoimoi]

22. Current trends indicate poor odds for any GOPer candidate

None the less, they need to show face and put up a credible hat tosser..

Whoever runs risks a LOSER LABEL should defeat ensue...thats a price for flag holding during battle against entrenched Democrats...

People are jockeying for an opening that appeals .... this is gonna be a season for suprise and humor

[golfguru]

24. What do you know about Herman Caine?

[Clio the Leo]

5. It's like a giant game of chicken....

... all of them waiting for the other to go first.

The President announced in mid-February I believe but I'm not sure how that compared to everyone else.

[sledgehammer]

6. Hillary in Jan 07, Obama in Feb 07, Edwards in Dec 06. n/t

[Clio the Leo]

9. wow, yeah, what's the hold up?

..... having a POPULAR President, THAT is the hold up. ;)

[PatSeg]

11. And out of the entire party,

they can't find one viable candidate, at least not one who is willing to put him/herself out there. Of course I'm sure Alan Keyes will be making an announcement soon.

[sledgehammer]

12. Herman Cain beat Alan Keyes to it!

Fellow Patriots, Welcome to the new HermanCain.com, home to my presidential exploratory committee. Here, you will find all of the important information necessary to keep up-to-date with my decision-making process as I continue to determine how God wants me to best serve our great nation. http://www.hermancain.com/

I am so looking forward to the repug debates. Entertainment galore! Really, really hope Palin and Bachman throw their hats into the ring.

[PatSeg]

19. Somebody has to be first!

If you want to make money giving speeches and/or sell books, run for president. This will be so entertaining.

[karynnj]

15. True, but we knew all the 2004 Democrats running, except Clark,

by this time in 2003. There was a February 2003 DNC event where all of them except Kerry spoke - and Kerry's absence was due to medical reasons.

What I suspect is that many are looking at the 2008 season and seeing how grueling it was to start that early. In today's gothcha media the intense spot light is hard to deal with 24/7. I suspect a lot is happening behind the scenes. Some of that happened among Democrats in 2006 and 2007 - where several "candidates" (who never really ran" announced they were not running. (Warner, Bayh and Vilsak - likely all ceding the center to Hillary.)

This year is more like a reverse image of the 2004 campaign. Bush's popularity in 2003 was in the 60s - even until December. It fell significantly in 2004. It is likely meant that some - I would guess - Hillary, Bayh and likely Daschle (who likely did not foresee losing his Senate seat) - might have opted not to jump in because Bush was very popular.

I think there MIGHT be some younger, fast track Republicans waiting to see which way Obama's popularity goes. Thune - always referred to as "photogenic" but never for anything solid and the former Governor of Utah, now the Ambassador to China might be examples of this.

If Obama's popularity increases or stays constant, those like Romney, Huckabee and Gingrich - retreads - might be the ones fighting for it (with Palin if she is delusional enough) because others may consider 2016 a better shot.

[Ikonoklast]

7. They are frightened of Palin.

Her Brownshirts will turn on whoever declares, as they won't support anyone but Palin.

She's playing for powerbroker as she has no chance of winning the nom, but whoever does has to woo her and her shocktroops.

[rasputin1952]

8. I think they will wait a little longer...

a lot rides on what the House does in the coming weeks. If they start tossing grenades all over the place, the first R's to announce will be roasted. If it looks like the GOP will actually make some "gains" in legislating, the field will open up...no one wants to be the sacrificial lamb.

The GOP led House will not get repeal of HCR, in fact, they may get precisely the opposite of what they want when people realize that kids will die from their proposals. Taxation, always vexing, is another time bomb; most people realize it's not necessarily the money that's taken in by the government, but how it's spent is what really counts. A for instance is the massive debt acquired for our presence in the Middle East, another is the boondoggle of a waste of funds for "Star Wars" and other projects that are ridiculously overfunded. Far too many examples to name them all, but the savings that can be made from realistic spending will have to be paramount to anything the D's can produce.

Cutting SS/Medicare will really piss off a lot of people, even those who clamor for the end of those programs, case in point being, all of the cash that was put into the system from those who are midway to retirement would simply have seen their contributions vanish, it's essentially theft. Someone who's worked for 30 years suddenly has absolutely no stake in what they were contributing to all of those years. The tens of thousands of dollars they've put in simply vanish, they get nothing on their "investment". Tell that straight up and watch the R's clamoring for dissolving SS/Medicare running for cover like jackrabbits fleeing a grassfire.

Basically, it all comes down to the next 5-6 weeks, and the first one to announce will set the stage for the rush to the veggie bin as the GOP searches for more.

[MadBadger]

10. Maybe by Thursday?

Thats what I would do. I seem to remember mid-late January when people started to announce, and Announcing on Thursday gives you the Friday news cycle as well as the Sunday morning shows.

[impik]

13. None of them really wants to run against Obama

[DrToast]

16. I think so. They know Obama is a big favorite. They're all looking toward 2016

[Arkana]

14. Yeah, you'd think.

The bigger names will wait until March/April, but the lesser-knowns should all be announcing within a month from now--hell, it took Obama a full year just to build up name recognition.

[Ter]

17. Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday is February 6

Expect them all to announce then.:D

[Exilednight]

18. Ding Ding Ding - we have a winner.

They're waiting to prostrate themselves before the altar of Reagan.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

20. I hope not. A year off from elections would be nice.

I'm not anxious to hear two years worth of crap filling the news.

[burning rain]

23. It is sort of odd so few have come forward.

In the comparable year of 1996 (Democratic president running for a second term), everyone and his brother in the GOP had at least a brief go at it: Bob Dole, Phil Gramm, Pat Buchanan, Steve Forbes, Pete Wilson, Dick Lugar, Arlen Specter, Alan Keyes, Bob Dornan, and Arthur Fletcher.