Below The Beltway

Something tells me that Charles Krauthammer won’t be invited to Wasilla anytime soon:

Krauthammer is, I think, 100% correct, as I observed only days after the 2008 election:
History certainly isn’t on her side. There are no examples in history of a failed Vice-Presidential candidate becoming either their party’s nominee or President of the United States (Walter [...]

Yes, it’s way too early for this to mean all that much, nonetheless this looks like bad news for the GOP all around:
Huckabee fares the best of the top Republican contenders at this point in time, trailing Obama 49-42. That margin is basically the same as what Obama won by against John McCain in November. [...]

U.S. News & World Report’s Paul Bedard notes that there isn’t much Palin-love in the GOP today:
Worse than Dan Quayle before her, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s bright star has fast faded in the eyes of Washington Republican officials and analysts, calling into question her efforts to become a national party figure ready to run for the [...]

Yes, it’s early to be talking about 2012 matchups, but this can’t be good news for Sarah-boosters:
A new Public Policy Polling survey shows President Obama would crush Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a hypothetical 2012 presidential contest, 55% to 35%.
(…)
“The key reason Palin would lose to Obama by so much is that even though she [...]

A new profile in American Conservative makes it clear that, quietly, the South Carolina Governor is becoming a force to be reckoned with:
Sanford’s conservative credentials compare favorably to anyone else mentioned as a 2012 presidential contender. He calls the public-education system “a Soviet-style monopoly.” He promoted school choice through tax rebates to avoid the appearance [...]

Once again, the press is wondering if Newt Gingrich has Presidential ambitions:
Newt for president?
Newt Gingrich, the conservative former Speaker of the House, didn’t rule it out tonight in Ashland, before he was to address a packed house of 650-plus at Randolph-Macon College.
“Callista and I will look seriously and we’ll probably get our family totally engaged, [...]

David Frum thinks that Republicans, especially activist conservative Republicans, are in the throes of a very powerful myth:
The myth is the myth of the Goldwater triumph of 1964. It goes approximately as follows:
In 1964, after years of watered down politics, Republicans turned to a true conservative, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Yes, Goldwater lost badly. But [...]

For the third year in a row, Mitt Romney has won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference:
(CNN) — One day after delivering a forceful campaign-style speech to the conference of conservative activists, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won his third straight CPAC Straw Poll on Saturday, earning 20 percent of the vote [...]

A new CNN poll of Republican preferences for 2012 shows a statistical tie between the usual suspects:
WASHINGTON (CNN) – As the the first unofficial ballots are cast in the next race for the White House, a new national survey of Republicans indicates that the GOP doesn’t have a clear presidential frontrunner — but does have [...]

Bob Schieffer interviewed Ron Paul on his “Washington Unplugged” show recently and Paul seemed to suggest that he probably will not be a candidate for President in 2012.
Here’s the first clip, where Paul discusses the state and future of the Republican Party, the use of the Internet in political campaigns, and says that another [...]