Help Wanted...Please!

Immediate Opening:
Presidential Candidate
No Experience Necessary
Must be willing to debate smart black man
Belief in God and Guns a plus
Contact Republican National Committee


It's hard to believe that, with an unemployment rate of 9%, the Republican Party is struggling to find a viable candidate that might challenge Obama next year. On the other hand, when one considers what a candidate is expected to provide, maybe not.

The Tea Party has thrown the party ass over tea kettle (pun intended) as they pull any hopeful to the right. While this may serve them well during the primaries, national elections generally attract more moderate voters who will cross party lines to avoid strident views. This means that the candidates must be near-schizophrenic as they energize "the base" to get the nomination and then the nation by espousing differing views.

California's race for Barbara Boxer's senate seat last year is a case in point: while all polls showed Tom Campbell the only primary candidate able to defeat Boxer, the primary voters looked upon him as too moderate. They chose Carly Fiorina to challenge Boxer and she lost because the overall pool of voters more than likely looked upon her as too far to the right.

And, despite what they purport, the Republican field views Obama as a formidable opponent and anyone with aspirations of a political future is loathe to run and lose for fear of an enduring scar in 2016. Candidates such as Gingrich or Giuliani have little to lose. Pawlenty is so new on the national scene that he, too, could well survive a defeat and live to run another day. Likewise, Sarah Palin could well run as the anti-establishment candidate without harming her brand name.

Regardless, the schism within the party has created the need for one person that can satisfy the expectations of two very different constituencies. So maybe, after all, we should not be surprised that many on the right have decided to sit out the 2012 dance.

In the meantime, the political right remains frustrated as they look for that perfect candidate. It is very possible that, in realizing there is no such animal in this cycle, the Tea Party will promote their own candidate. While this may be philosophically satisfying, the result will be a revisit to 1992 when Ross Perot's name on the ballot split the Republican vote and Clinton won the White House.

Whomever the eventual nominee is, the mantra will remain the same: low taxes, small government, family values. In other words, pay little, expect nothing, and keep your private life private. All three run counter to human nature and examples abound to prove their impotence. Nevertheless, expect a debate over polarizing philosophies rather than real-world ideas and proposed solutions. So maybe the particular candidate's name is secondary and really has no bearing on what happens next.

A true conundrum, to be sure, and only time will tell if a serious contender throws a hat into the ring. Should Obama contribute to some national failure or scandal, the doors open wide for challengers as soon as he is seen as vulnerable. Otherwise, don't expect much from right field. It's not about our nation's future and continued vitality, you know. It's about the future and vitality of one's public service "career".