Reply To: Your Dream-Ticket for 2012

Trying my best, some of them would indeed make good presidents, but let’s review their issues one-by-one:

Jeb Bush

Had his last name been Smith, he’d probably be the front-runner for the GOP nomination and most probably our next president. Jeb, a former governor from Florida, a vital swing-state, is competent, intelligent and few in the nation understand politics as he does. He attracts the Tea Partyers as well as the moderates and can unify them to rally behind him. A former businessman , Jeb would bring business experience as well as executive experience to the Oval Office. The years he worked for his father as well as running his own campaigns, gave him the political experience needed to run a good and disciplined campaign (something an Obama opponent should have). This is in addition to managing Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s campaign and serving as chairman of the Republican Party of Dade County. Bush’s education policies and legislation received high-marks throughout the nation (education might become an issue in the decade to come) and he has foreign policy credentials as well. Charismatic and an eloquent speaker, Jeb has the advantage of courting the Hispanic vote (because of his Hispanic wife) and is popular among Blacks (although it won’t do much against Obama’s popularity among them – talk about racists!). Jeb is an amazing fundraiser and is a sought-after speaker for policy. He also has high-approval ratings and strong name recognition. In other words: he’s just perfect to be president.

However, his name is Bush and that’s the problem. Although Obama might overshadow George W. Bush and improve his ratings (as he already did) many will still refrain from voting for “Bush.” Conservatives are still angry at “Bush” (41 & 43) for betraying their principles and although Jeb has more conservative credentials, he will have to make a strong case to overcome their suspicions. Liberals are also angry at “Bush” for ‘stealing the elections’ in 2000 with many liberals claiming Jeb actually orchestrated it. Additionally, people don’t want political dynasties any longer. Many claimed that Hillary lost the nomination because of her “Clinton” surname and Bushes hail from even a more prominent family. Many voters would rather vote for someone with a passionate story (like Obama’s) than someone that was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Bobby Jindal

Bobby is another fabulous candidate.

A Governor with sky-high approval ratings, Bobby would be the youngest president in history, if elected (in 2012). His youth is also more attractive than Obama’s (in 2008) because Bobby has a whole lot of political and executive experience (serving as a Representative before becoming Governor of Louisiana as well as administration positions).

He would also be the first Indian-American to become president of the US and will most likely attract minorities. He will also attract both conservatives and moderates. Bobby will have a strong say on Healthcare (which will definitely be an issue in 2012) given that he has served as the DHH in Louisiana and did a great job increasing health services while cutting costs of Medicaid and was then nominated to be the assistant Secretary of Health under President Bush. Jindal has also shown leadership capabilities at the Hurricane Gustav and gulf spill disasters.

Perhaps Jindal’s main liability is his charisma and speech performance. Although he doesn’t lack name recognition, he isn’t very popular around the country and his lackluster appearances won’t help. He needs to perform well at the debates to capture the nomination and it might prove bad for him when debating Obama. Additionally, although Bobby has a business background and was effective in creating a surplus out of a deficit in Medicaid in Louisiana, some will rather have one with more economic experience. But, I agree, he’s definitely one to look at.

John Bolton

David Petraeus

Rick Perry