Toast of the Party (Dec. 2009)

GOPToast's top ten list of who will represent the Republican Party against Barack Obama in 2012. Completely non-scientific, purely opinion.

	1	MITT ROMNEY	Still the undefeated top-ranked 2012 contender on GOPToast's Toast of the Party. And is it any wonder? Barack Obama is off holding his own pretend jobs summit while Mitt Romney is actually proposing real ways to fix the economy. As always, Romney is the only one who can defeat Romney at this point. LAST MONTH: 1
	2	TIM PAWLENTY	Holding steady at No. 2. While Tim Pawlenty hasn't done much over the past month, he hasn't done anything to lose this spot. LAST MONTH: 2
	3	NEWT GINGRICH	For the first time in the (four-month) history of Toast of the Party, there is a new No. 3. In September, Newt Gingrich was ranked No. 10. The former speaker of the house is experiencing a second birth a decade and a half after he introduced his Contract with America. LAST MONTH: 4
	4	SARAH PALIN	Yes, Sarah Palin is drawing monster crowds on her book tour. She has a popularity unlike anything we've seen in America politics (hey, Obama wasn't even drawing these types of crowds three years before he ran for president). Can she be president though? Probably not. Especially not if her book and recent talks are any sign. Focus on the future, not the woes of 2008. LAST MONTH: 3
	5	JOHN THUNE	John Thune holds steady. LAST MONTH: 5
	6	DICK CHENEY	The biggest addition the Toast of the Party rankings. While Dick Cheney has said nothing to allude to a presidential run, the pieces are slowing coming into place. TV appearances, interviews, an upcoming memoir. The growing movement to draft Cheney for 2012 shows that the former vice president just may the support to challenge Obama. LAST MONTH: NR
	7	ERIC CANTOR	Eric Cantor was going to move up a spot this month, had it not been for Cheney. Cantor may finally be coming out of his shell, calling out the probably pointlessness of the Obama job summit this week. LAST MONTH: 7
	8	BOBBY JINDAL	More and more it's looking like 2012 won't be Bobby Jindal's year. Every time the issue arises, he turns the focus to running for reelection in Louisiana. Someday though ... LAST MONTH: 6
	9	JIM DEMINT	Jim DeMint is still getting buzz on some sites. The closer we get to 2012, the more we'll be hearing from him. LAST MONTH: 10
	10	RICK SANTORUM	Since announcing that he would challenge Obama in 2012, Santorum has done little else. For someone who's tossed his hat in the ring, Santorum needs to show some fight. LAST MONTH: 9

While we usually don't address the candidates who have fallen from the rankings, there is a certain former contender that we feel we should address this month:

Mike Huckabee.

Without a doubt, GOPToast recognizes that the ten contenders listed above have issues. They have flaws. They have made mistakes. But, in our opinion, none of them have done something that makes them purely unelectable. Huckabee has. The recent Maurice Clemmons ordeal showed why Huckabee will never be president. To run such a candidate in a national election would be a disaster for the Republican Party. Huckabee has already had two Willie Horton moments – how many more are lurking? As the past week has shown, Huckabee is also unable to take any responsibility for his own actions. He blamed the fact that Clemmons was on the streets on everyone and anyone he could think of ... but not himself.

Huckabee is a divisive figure in our own party. He attacks his fellow Republicans, doing his best to damage their chances at leading the common party. GOPToast will not support Mike Huckabee for president in any way. We urge all others to do the same.