With few candidates declared for the 2012 race for president,
Republicans are worried their party may appear tentative about their
prospects against President Obama.
Republican leaders, activists and donors, anxious that the
party's initial presidential field could squander a chance to
capture grass-roots energy and build a strong case against
Obama at the outset of the 2012 race, are stepping up appeals
for additional candidates to jump in, starting with Gov. Mitch
Daniels of Indiana.
"I'm getting letters from all over the damn country, and some of
them are pretty moving," Daniels said last week in Indianapolis,
where his friends believe he is inching closer to exploring a
candidacy. He added, "It can't help but affect you."
The first contests of the primary are about eight months away,
and most of the candidates have yet to fully open their campaigns.
But some party leaders worry that Republicans are making a bad first
impression by appearing tentative about their prospects against
Obama and allowing Donald Trump, the New York real estate mogul
and television host, to grab headlines with his often-rebutted
allegations that Obama might not be an American citizen.
"The race needs more responsible adults who can actually do the
job," said Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire
Republican Party.
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who leads many polls
despite taking few steps to organize a campaign, is quietly asking
supporters to be patient. And Jon M. Huntsman Jr., a former governor
of Utah and a relative moderate in a party that has moved to the
right, has just returned from his post as ambassador to China to
decide whether to join a campaign-in-waiting built by Republicans
who see an opening for him.
The wish list among Republicans is wide and varied. Sarah Palin,
a former governor of Alaska, retains a devoted following. But
activists also express a longing for others to step off the
sidelines, including Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Gov.
Rick Perry of Texas and Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin,
the chairman of the House Budget Committee, whose budget-cutting
plan has drawn controversy but also keen attention.
The first debate of the nominating contest is Thursday on Fox
News, and party officials believe that the presidential field will
be all but set by June, giving urgency to the call for more
candidates.
Parties facing an incumbent president often have trouble
establishing the stature of their candidates in the early going. But
the challenge for Republicans this time is especially striking given
Obama's vulnerabilities and the passion of the grass-roots
conservative movement that helped propel the party to big gains in
Congress and state houses in 2010.
The party lacks the establishment-anointed candidate that has led
it into every presidential cycle for decades. Mitt Romney, a former
Massachusetts governor, may come closest to that role -- he was
second in total Republican delegates when he suspended his campaign
in 2008 -- but he has kept a relatively low profile to avoid
becoming a target.
Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker, is well-known but has
political and personal liabilities. Newer faces like former Gov.
Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota are barely known to most voters.
One young Republican who has drawn close attention made clear on
Sunday that he has no interest in being on his party's 2012 ticket.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who at 39 has emerged as a Tea Party
favorite but seems to have appeal beyond that group, flatly told
NBC's "Meet the Press" that he would not seek the presidency or vice
presidency at this point.
Still, the Republicans on the sidelines seem to be getting almost
as much attention as those clearly in the race. Reince Priebus, the
Republican National Committee chairman, said last week that he
expected other candidates to join the race.
The loudest and most persistent entreaties are directed toward
Daniels, who for two terms as Indiana governor has shown that
fiscal conservatism and political popularity can go hand in hand.
Daniels, who says Republicans should be more focused on
addressing the country's fiscal condition, worked in the Reagan
administration and as budget director for President George W. Bush.
An alumni network of those administrations, ranging from top
contributors to field operatives, has elevated a whisper campaign
into a forceful effort to enlist him.
The decision last week by another establishment favorite,
Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, not to pursue a presidential
bid has increased pressure on Daniels, who drew national
attention Friday for saying he would sign a bill that cuts off
Medicaid financing for Planned Parenthood in Indiana. His allies
have started mapping out a campaign structure that could be fully in
place this month.
"What sets Mitch apart from the other candidates who are
currently running -- he is very, very direct and very open about
what needs to be done," said Al Hubbard, a director of the National
Economic Council. "I'm disappointed that the other candidates who
are currently talking about running are reluctant to do that."
The call for new candidates is hardly universal. Some Republicans
point to the 1992 Democratic field, initially derided as
uninspiring, that produced President Clinton.
But there has been an undercurrent of concern in the party for
months. The conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer has called
the field "split and weak."
Peter Wehner, a former adviser to Bush, credited a "lack of
fizz" in the field with letting Mr. Trump gain attention as a
potential Republican candidate despite his previous contributions to
Democrats and even a suggestion that the country examine a single-
payer health-care system, anathema to many conservatives.
"At this point, there appears to be a flatness to the field,"
said Wehner, who has been highly critical of Trump. "There's
a void right now, and even clowns can fill voids."
