It's never too early for political junkies

An interesting letter to NROs Corner today concerning a possible Mitt Romney run at the presidency. I have always thought of Romney as another simpleminded pro-abortion Republican (“I am personally opposed, blah, blah, blah”). Perhaps he deserves another look. In part the letter says:

I too have been charmed by Gov. Romney and, as someone who comes from the socially libertarian wing of the GOP, I think that he has the uncanny ability to bring cultural conservatives like yourself and social moderates like me together. The reason is that, as you pointed out, all of his positions seem well-reasoned. Never do you hear the nuance of some Republicans, who are obviously trying to hide their pro-choice position behind pro-life rhetoric or vice-versa. Instead, Mitt's social positions are all based on logic and reason (something all Republicans like) and usually end up as a compromise between both wings of the party that we can all live with…

And need we mention the electoral calculus of a Mitt/Hillary race? Romney would almost certainly win his father's Michigan (my native state) and would likely pull Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and hold Ohio. In order for Hillary to win, she'd have to pierce the red/blue divide and win the South, the thought of which is laughable.

And yet, all of this remains speculation, as I am one of those stubborn history buffs who has seen how the GOP selects nominees and remain convinced that either McCain or Rudy will be the nominee largely because it's "his turn." Republicans haven't nominated a dark horse since 1940. Romney certainly has a shot at defying history in New Hampshire, but I'm not putting any money on him just yet.

This letter writer is likely correct about the electoral calculus with Hillary, although I think that is true of almost any decent Republican candidate who runs a reasonable campaign (I am on record saying Hillary Clinton will never be president of the United States). I differ in that I’d be surprised if McCain or Rudy get the nomination, as I don’t think either will run. McCain will be quite old by that time (72 years old on election day 2008) and Rudy has too much baggage to make it in national politics.  He’d be better served running against Hillary for the Senate, and I think he’s smart enough to know that. I think the race for GOP nomination for president in 2008 is wide open. Just sign me up for the Anybody but Bill Frist Club. You’d like to have a candidate who does not need a personality implant.