2012 presidential predictions

With the 2010 midterms behind us—despite a few races that are still being decided—the next race that will undoubtedly dominate the all day, every day news cycle is the 2012 presidential election.

And while clearly it is too early to tell, it won’t stop the pundits and prognosticators from speculating. Admittedly, I’ve done my own share of speculation as well. But I want to make one quick point. Even though the media usually just mentions a few candidates like former governors Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, I have a feeling the candidates prematurely picked by conventional wisdom will not be the end result when the primaries end.

When President Obama first announced in February 2007 that he was running, most people thought it was a joke. It was already written in stone that the Clinton machine would make a clean sweep to victory.

Fast forward to November 2008 and not only had he beaten Clinton, but in the general election, he ended up winning certain states that many thought were unimaginable. Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia, which normally conservative states, were all blue.

So when the numerous GOP figures start announcing their candidacies for the 2012 nomination, I’m not looking at Romney or Palin or Gingrich. I’ll be looking at those unconventional candidates because if there has been any continuing trends through 2008 and 2010, it’s that nothing in today’s political realm is impossible.

Posted by Ian Bridgeforth on Nov 18 2010. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.