April 19, 2013

"Walker quietly tops list of GOP favorites for White House..."

"Gov. Scott Walker is the sleeping lion in a list of possible Republican candidates for president in 2016, surging to the top of some politicos’ lists who see his scandal-free past as a big boon. Mr. Walker stands above even 'first tier' Republican candidates like Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Christ Christie, political analyst Larry Sabato with the University of Virginia said, in a report from The Washington Examiner. That’s because he beat a concerted Democratic Party recall effort — and that sets him apart, and above, Mr. Sabato said."

Says the Madison rag The Capital Times, evincing a little too much devotion to Governor Christie.

72 comments:

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

"Christ Christie"? I like the guy, but that's taking it a little far.

mccullough said...

Governors make better Presidents than Senators. The one advantage a senator has is some foreign relations experience if they serve on that committee and get to know other world leaders.

Sorun said...

"his scandal-free past"

Not according to our chief misinformation specialist, Garage.

Alex said...

We all know Walker is going to be indicted on 10 felony charges any moment now.

/garage

mccullough said...

I wonder how Walker not having a college degree would affect his chances.

Drago said...

Sorun: "Not according to our chief misinformation specialist, Garage."

Don't worry. The lefties will have Walker personally strangling old ladies by the time their done with him.

After all, Romney gave a woman cancer!

campy said...

Replace the Smartest Human To Have Ever Lived with a schlub who couldn't even get a post-HS degree? Yeah, sure.

edutcher said...

This is Sabato's estimate. Christie and Rubio are now firmly in the RINO camp.

Walker is a Republican.

ricpic said...

I thought Chris Christie was a Democrat? His love walk with Obama practically sealed Romney's fate.

dreams said...

I have a very low opinion of Larry Sabato, your typical run of the mill liberal.

dreams said...

Chris Christie will never be the Republican nominee for president.

chickelit said...

Walker will never stand a chance with the likes of garage mahal trying to blow out his political legs.

Too soon?

/sarc

ndspinelli said...

For Chrissake, Walker is not presidential material..and I voted for him.

Seeing Red said...

He doesn't have a college degree?

The educated/credentialed ones have been doing a stellar job so far.

dc said...

Romney was elected in Ma.
How well did that work out?

Nonapod said...

The past 4 Presidents we've had have been Harvard graduates. The American voters seem to have an affinity for overrated credentials.

Original Mike said...

"...who see his scandal-free past as a big boon."

They clearly don't know about the secret routers!

Original Mike said...

"For Chrissake, Walker is not presidential material..and I voted for him."

Ditto.

Oso Negro said...

Christie proved he was a Democrat when he walked arm in arm with Obama. Rubio is humping the immigration pooch just as fast as he can.

Seeing Red said...

Hmmm, maybe we should be asking "What's wrong with Harvard" instead of Kansas?

Original Mike said...

"Christie proved he was a Democrat when he walked arm in arm with Obama."

That didn't bother me. What did bother me, mightily, was his temper tantrum over minor delays in passage of the pork-ridden disaster "relief" bill. His stock plummeted with me because of that.

mccullough said...

Christie is better than Corzine. He's applied some fiscally conservative principles to New Jersey's financial problems. You can't expect more from a Northeastern Republican. I'd take him over Hillary.

I prefer Walker to Christie and both of them to Rubio or Ryan or anyone else without executive experience.

mccullough said...

I don't follow Walker too closely. Why isn't he Presidential material? Is he not very bright like Biden, Cuomo and O'Malley? He comes off as a bit boring. But that's a plus to me.

cubanbob said...

At the rate things are going under the democrat-communist party by the spring of 2016 any republican picked at random from the phone book will be a credible candidate.

I see Walker's lack of a college degree as a plus. He doesn't have to clear his mind of left wing bullshit.

dc said...

He's got more charisma than Robert Dole and John Kerry combined.

Original Mike said...

" Why isn't he Presidential material?"

I don't know; I'm trying to put my finger on it. He just doesn't seem to be as quick on his feet (not the same thing as dumb) as I'd like. To be fair, I haven't seen him many times in the type of environment that would allow him to show his stuff.

Original Mike said...

I think we should make Obama stay in office so he's the one who has to put up with all the shit coming down the pike.

Nathan Alexander said...

I'm still hoping for Rick Perry.

His record in Texas is extremely impressive.

He normally is a good speaker. He's a solid conservative.

He won't be on pain pills for back surgery this time (big mistake...better to feel the pain and know what you are dealing with than get wrapped in medication-induced comfort where you can't feel how your concentration is affected).

Most the typical liberal ammo was already expended the first time around, too (like the idiocy about the rock).

ndspinelli said...

mccullough, Don't get me wrong, I think the next prez will be a non elite. We often elect the opposite personal profile particularly when the prior administration was a failure. Not having a college degree is not a big deal to me, but it is to MANY voters. Aside from that, I think it would be classic peter principle w/ Walker. A good guv, but poor prez. If the Republicans were smart, which they aren't, they would be looking out of the box..a non politician, business person.

Larry J said...

mccullough said...
I wonder how Walker not having a college degree would affect his chances.


Seeing the mess that all those highly credentialed Ivy League graduates have made of things, it might be something in his favor.

IIRC, Harry Truman was the last US president who didn't have a college degree. Overall, he did a pretty good job.

Original Mike said...

"I'm still hoping for Rick Perry."

Speaking of not being fast on your feet. He had his chance. Move on.

dreams said...

Walker seems to me to be cool, calm and very articulate, I think he has a good presidential demeanor though I don't know if he will catch on with the national voters.

Amartel said...

"First tier"?

machine said...

haha...no college degree and is the GOP frontrunner....haha...another blowout!


Original Mike said...

"Walker seems to me to be cool, calm and very articulate, I think he has a good presidential demeanor..."

He is level-headed. How he put up with all that shit is beyond me. I never could have done it.

Sorun said...

I look forward to the Dems denigrating Walker for not having a college degree. That'll sound good to voters.

Michael K said...

Rubio is busy making way for someone else with his ridiculous amnesty bill. There are plenty of Republican governors. Walker has a good record so far but he doesn't seem to be a great speaker. The 2016 election will come about the time the collapse arrives. We might have to sentence somebody to the presidency by that time.

Lyssa said...

I think that southerners routinely do a much better job of connecting with the American people, a tragic mistake in the past 2 contests. You never hear it, but I'd like to see our gov, Tennessee's Bill Haslem, go up. Southern, from somewhat (historically) moderate state towards the middle of the country, business background, tends to avoid putting his foot in his mouth.

Unfortunately, his family business (Pilot) is caught up in an ugly federal investigation right now. The CEO is his brother; it's not clear if anything will come back to him, but I'm hoping not.

MadisonMan said...

Doesn't the UW now have a Walker-sponsored program that awards College Credits for life experiences?

So Walker will have a BA by the time the election runs around :)

Synova said...

I think that the lack of a college degree will be a problem. Maybe it shouldn't be that way, but it probably is.

Amartel said...

"haha...no college degree and is the GOP frontrunner....haha...another blowout!"

haha ... no college degree and still beats a "concerted Democratic Party recall effort."

Sometimes credentials are meaningful, other times ... not so much.
Credentials are/were meaningful in the professions but no one likes a professional politician so are credentials a net negative in politics? Probably depends on how easily led you are.

campy said...

I look forward to the Dems denigrating Walker for not having a college degree. That'll sound good to voters.

The dems won't have to. They'll have the impartial, unbiased, nonpartisan media do it for them.

Original Mike said...

"I think that the lack of a college degree will be a problem."

Only if the Democrats were to run sleazy negative ads about it. They wouldn't do that.

Synova said...

He might do well as a stalking horse (is that the right term?) to draw all the scorn and attacks, because he'll be popular right off but his person will be so horrific to liberals, mostly because of the college thing, that they'll get distracted.

Maybe.

machine said...

Good...run him...

Better yet, pair him up with the quitta from wasilla...

Original Mike said...

We'd never get the Capital back from the occupiers.

Scott M said...

haha...no college degree and is the GOP frontrunner....haha...another blowout!

So somehow not having a college degree is a negative. Why do you hate the vast majority of union workers, you elitist snob?

Original Mike said...

"Why do you hate the vast majority of union workers, you elitist snob?"

Speaking of which; where the hell is garage?

Colonel Angus said...

"I think that the lack of a college degree will be a problem."

Only if the Democrats were to run sleazy negative ads about it. They wouldn't do that.


It would put them in a them in the situation of alienating a good chunk of the electorate who don't have college degrees.

Always thought it was overrated anyway. Common sense and a hard work ethic are more valuable than a framed document on the wall.

chickelit said...

Speaking of which; where the hell is garage?

Last I heard, he was headed here.

prairie wind said...

Fifty comments and none of them mention Rand Paul...interesting. Why not? I want the GOP to lean libertarian.

Colonel Angus said...

So somehow not having a college degree is a negative. Why do you hate the vast majority of union workers, you elitist snob?

The cognitive dissonance of leftists is at times, breathtaking to behold.

Drago said...

machine: "haha...no college degree and is the GOP frontrunner....haha...another blowout!"

The left is all about the "little" man.....

Original Mike said...

Maybe we should require a college degree to vote. Apparently, the rest are too stupid to be trusted with policy.

Drago said...

machine: "Good...run him..."

That's the thing.

Nobody "runs" a candidate.

They can voice support and provide early funding, support draft efforts etc.

But in the end, the candidates self-select.

They have to want to do it.

For an example of someone who ran and clearly didn't really want to, I give you Fred Thompson.

Talk about a big campaign nothing burger.

If Rand Paul wants to jump in, fine. If Walker does, fine. This is why early predictions are not very meaningful. We have about a year and half to go before we start getting to the "deadline" to announce/prep a run.

It will really be interesting to see who will step up to knock off Hillary in the dem primary this time.

Drago said...

I probably should have said who will step up and challenge Hillary and possibly knock her off in the dem primary.

Challenging does not guarantee victory.

Sofa King said...

For me Walker seems kind of mediocre as a candidate because seems to lack, I don't know, urgency maybe. In Wisconsin, he was able to win without responding forcefully to some vicious negative attacks. I'm not sure that works nationally. Maybe he's capable of a stronger touch, but I'm not sure. He might be another Romney - great executive, but lacking what it takes to run a winning national campaign.

I would actually prefer to see Johnson give it a shot.

cubanbob said...

machine said...
haha...no college degree and is the GOP frontrunner....haha...another blowout!


4/19/13, 11:08 AM

Yes indeed. It will be a blowout but not the one you think. By November 2016 being an Ivy League grad will be poison as a qualification for president.

Michael K said...

The college degree thing is interesting. I wonder if the topic of affirmative action might come up eventually. There are a lot of undeserved college degrees around, at least compared to the level of effort required when I was in college in the 50s.

Maybe we should require the candidates to diagram a sentence and to pass a history quiz. When the left banned IQ tests they had something like the present in mind.

Michael K said...

I wonder how long we will have to wait until Amanda Thatcher is ready ?

Æthelflæd said...

Michael K beat me to it.

Æthelflæd said...

I think Amanda is the next big thing.

Æthelflæd said...

I also wonder at the absence of Rand Paul from the list. Things that make you go hmmmmm....

Hagar said...

At least 16 years.

Æthelflæd said...

That pesky constitutional age limit thing.

A. Shmendrik said...

You have to go back aways, but I bet Althouse remembers in her first few years in Madison how the Capital Times was enamored of Michael Dukakis and the "Massachusetts Miracle". It was the precursor to their lovefest with John Edwards. That amazing shrinking paper/website is truly a rag.

ken in tx said...

This is the first I have heard of Amanda Thatcher. I hope she has a bright future.

Calypso Facto said...

"For Chrissake, Walker is not presidential material..and I voted for him."

Ditto.


Tritto.

Besides, we need Walker here to keep garage (and his fellow Madisonians) in a froth. SO instructive and entertaining to watch the bile ooze from their elitist ("No college degree!") pores.

Original Mike said...

"Says the Madison rag The Capital Times..."

Rag? It's the voice of progressive Madison.

Lydia said...

About the lack of a college degree. I dunno. Maybe by 2016 most Americans will realize the "best and brightest" haven't really done such a great job and will gladly turn to a guy with street smarts and some actual working experience.

In any case, having a college degree per se really isn't enough -- it's got to be an Ivy League degree. In the 1980s, the Libs loved to poke fun at Reagan's alma mater, Eureka College in Illinois.

And Sarah Palin never got further than the University of Idaho, so that right there proved she was stupid.

ed said...

Walker? Sure.

Cruz? I'm in.

Christie? Iffy.

rcocean said...

I don't think so. The Republicans like their presidential candidates moderate, old, lacking charisma, DC connected, and completely unable to appeal to the average American.

Ford, McCain, Bush I, Dole, Romney. These are their dream candidates. I don't think Walker fits the bill. Christie looks good though.