Let The Race For 2012 Begin

Image via WikipediaThe 2012 presidential election is a mere 18 months or so away, which means it's almost time to put up or shut up when it comes to declaring yourself a candidate.

President Barack Obama has announced his intentions to run for a second time.  He has a good shot at winning if the voters look past the fact that the United States is now involved in three wars, a soft economic recovery, a record federal deficit, and people who still don't believe he's qualified to be President in the first place.

That takes care of the Democrats, unless current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decides to mount a challenge against her boss just like Eugene McCarthy did against Lyndon Johnson in 1968, and Ted Kennedy against Jimmy Carter in 1980.

The Republicans are a different story.  There are so many possibilities--Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, even Donald Trump.  Yet the only one to declare so far is Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor.  He's formed one of those "exploratory committees" to help him decide whether a White House run is more than quixotic.

Pawlenty might not be the only Minnesotan in the running.  The noted congresswoman and historian Michele Bachmann is telling some media outlets that she might go for it.  And Jesse Ventura, former governor turned conspiracy TV host, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he wants to be Ron Paul's running mate should the GOP congressman from Texas run as an independent.

Whoever the Republicans choose to run against Obama must also pass muster with the Dittoheads and Tea Partiers of the world.  Any kind of deviance from the conservative doctrine will cost them dearly in terms of votes and support.

It has been speculated that more than a billion dollars will be spent in the upcoming campaign, now that the Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for corporations to actively support candidates.  This means more mudslinging political ads than ever before, if that's possible, until Election Day finally arrives.  That, America, is what you have to look forward to.