Eric Cantor
Presidential Candidate
CNN put the two together in the same sentence today.
It’s a media-initiated trial balloon.
But its one related to a deeply-held perception among the mainstream media that the GOP won’t be able to beat Obama by recycling any of the names- Gingrich, Huckabee, Palin-Romney-prominent in 2008 or in previous years.
And some of the other early hopefuls are already tarnished.
Jindal was damaged when his response to Obama’s address to Congress bombed.
Doubts about Pawlenty have increased.
So if you”re looking for a new face, but one that’s relatively well known in GOP circles, it’s hard not to mention Cantor.
He told CNN that “I’m not running for President.”
Yet in an arena where words are always scoured for nuance, tone, and what wasn’t said
“I’m not running for President”
Doesn’t mean “I won’t run for President.”
And now that you’re on the list, why rush to have your name removed.
Some Democrats are saying that they can’t believe it.
But I tend to think that they might have to get used to it.
In the run-up to the 2010 congressional elections, Cantor’s visibility is likely to increase exponentially.
And the results next November may actually determine whether “I’m not running” is synonomous with “I won’t.”
I’d vote for him….just get him the heck out of the seventh
Many will remember that, when Bill Safire was alive and writing his column, he was known as the Great Mentioner. To paraphrase Yogi Bera: if Safire were alive, he’d be spinning in his grave.
I am not too sure about Rep. Cantor. Too big on the wedge social issues. Too small on the fundamental economics. At least that’s my observation from up here in the Fake Virginia.