Originally Posted By wahooskipper Surprise. I don't even know how it is news ready. Trump announcing he isn't running is like me announcing I'm not running. He never, ever intended on running. If he says otherwise he is a liar.
Originally Posted By Labuda And, btw, OMG comedy gold: "With his typical bravado, Trump maintained that he would have won the Republican primary and the general election..."" HAH!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say Trump couldn't have put up a pretty good fight. Win? Well, I hope not. But, in this day and age I really have pretty low expecations of the American voter and, like stopping at a car wreck, I think people would have voted for him just to see what would happen.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I think he might have twisted up the Republican primaries a bit, before the whole birther thing imploded on him. He's become such a sideshow clown now, though, I really don't think he'd even be much of a blip. And I don't think he ever had any serious intention of running anyway. It was cheap publicity for him, though he tarnished the Trump brand a good deal with his antics. With Huckabee also not running, it's going to be interesting to watch what happens. I think Pawlenty has the best chance overall, but it remains to be seen if he's tea party enough to get the nomination.
Originally Posted By velo 7 for 5. And the timing of his decision comes conveniently after it was announced that his show was picked up for another season.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <I think people would have voted for him just to see what would happen.> Maybe, but I'm not so sure. Yes, he did well in polls, but who was leading in the GOP polls at this point in 2007? Rudy Guiliani. And how well did Guiliani do once GOP primary voters actually started voting? Don't forget - until about 6 weeks ago, Trump was pro-choice, pro-gay rights, even pro-single-payer health care. He officially changed all those positions, but if you think Romney had problems with inauthenticity last time, that would have been nothing compared to Trump once voters actually took a second look. All most voters knew about the man politically was the birther thing, which unfortunately struck a chord with a lot of GOP voters. But once they looked twice... well, Rudy could tell Trump a thing or two about how well socially moderate New Yorkers do once those voters actually start voting, as opposed to answering polls based mainly on name recognition at this point. And I think Trump knew ALL that. I'm with you (and I said so here) that he was never really going to run unless he started believing his own press and his ego got the better of him. I don't even believe he ever really believed the birther crap either. It was all an act, designed for attention, publicity... and to get NBC to renew his in-the-ratings-dumpster TV show, for which he gets a cool 3 million per episode.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>polls based mainly on name recognition<< Exactly. Right now, I think a majority of Americans would be hard-pressed to correctly identify the candidates from photographs who have announced thus far. That will change of course, but polling this early is especially sketchy at best.
Originally Posted By gadzuux I was reading a Vanity Fair column today about the lame contenders that the GOP is fielding for this election. <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/06/james-wolcott-republicans2012-201106" target="_blank">http://www.vanityfair.com/poli...2-201106</a> It has unkind and dishy things to say about each and every one. But there was one particular quote - about Tim Pawlenty - that I enjoyed. >> Few are trying harder [to fill Reagan's cowboy boots] than Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, who attempts to dispel initial impressions of his Barney Fife beakiness and cardboard presence by pumping out ads of Aaron Copland splendor and muscular determination. Once again it’s morning in America, but this time with a bigger hangover (Obama fatigue), one that will take every ounce of lead in the pencil of leadership to undo. Directed by Lucas Baiano, who knows not shame, the “Courage to Stand” video promoting Pawlenty’s same-titled campaign biography sells the candidate as if he were the heartland hero of a Michael Bay-Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster, the man for the crucial moment. The eagle-soaring sweep across azure sky and city spires, the carefully chosen fruit salad of Norman Rockwell representative citizen-faces, the flash-card images of America’s noble struggle (Martin Luther King Jr. marching, Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima), the slowly building rallying-cry cadences of Pawlenty’s voiceover. As Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert raved, “The epic scale of this thing is incredible. It makes Pawlenty seem almost life-size.” <<
Originally Posted By alexbook I'd been looking forward to a debate between Trump and Jimmy "The Rent Is Too Damn High" McMillan.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "And the timing of his decision comes conveniently after it was announced that his show was picked up for another season." Yep. GOP "leaders" like Trump, Bachmann and Palin must think that voters in the Republican Party are idiots for being so easily duped by their antics.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I know lots of Republicans, and none of them thought Trump was serious. And most of them don't care for Bachmann or Palin. Just because those individuals annoint themselves as leaders doesn't mean that the vast majority are following. In 24 hour news cycles the press needs something to report. That is why they latched onto Trump and rode him as far as he would carry them. Arnold has been kind enough to give the press a reason to move on to the next story.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***And most of them don't care for Bachmann or Palin*** That's interesting. I realize there's a real disconnect between "Republican" and "Hardcore Right Winger" these days, but I've read differently from friends of the hard core variety (I don't know all that many "mainstream Republicans" these days, though I do know a few, yourself included, as well as some family members). The hardcore types seem to loathe Trump, as well as Huckabee and Pawlenty (and of course the only guy who could potentially put up a good fight in 2012, Romney), but consider Bachmann and Palin to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Originally Posted By Labuda "Right now, I think a majority of Americans would be hard-pressed to correctly identify the candidates from photographs who have announced thus far. " Has anyone other than Newt officially announced so far?
Originally Posted By Labuda "Arnold has been kind enough to give the press a reason to move on to the next story." Not as of today, he hasn't. Even the COMEDY channel I listen to on satellite was talking about his love child this morning... at 5 am Central Time. First time I've EVER heard actual NEWS on Raw Dog.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Has anyone other than Newt officially announced so far?<< Declared Republican candidates: Newt Gingrich, Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, Andy Martin, Jimmy McMillan, Ron Paul. Paperwork filed to run but not "declared": Herman Cain, Roy Moore, Tim Pawlenty, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum. Democratic candidates: Barack Obama, Randall Terry. Green candidate: Stewart Alexander. Independent candidates: Robert Burck, Joe Schriner. (This is from Wikipedia, so not guaranteed 100% accurate.)
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 <<Democratic candidates: Barack Obama, Randall Terry.>> Obama is being challenged? Who is Randall Terry?
