An Embarrassing Set Of Candidates

by Stuart Shapiro

I’ve written several times about how the current crop of GOP candidates bodes well for President Obama, virtually guaranteeing his reelection.  However, Joe Klein argues that these candidates are so loony that we should hope that some of the grownups in the Republican Party get into the race.

There are those who say, cynically, if this is the dim-witted freak show the Republicans want to present in 2012, so be it. I disagree. One of them could get elected. You never know. Mick Huckabee, the front-runner if you can believe it, might have to negotiate a trade agreement, or a defense treaty, with the Indonesian President some day. Newt might have to discuss very delicate matters of national security with the President of Pakistan. And so I plead, as an unflinching American patriot–please Mitch Daniels, please Jeb Bush, please run. I may not agree with you on most things, but I respect you. And you seem to respect yourselves enough not to behave like public clowns.

I disagree.  I’d rather take the tiny chance that one of these jokers could get elected and destroy the country than have a more effective Republican like Daniels or Bush run and put a real scare into the Obama campaign.  Still, it is food for thought.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.