The Strength of the GOP Field

Vladimir Putin Is Strong

The Omnivore kept hearing about how the 2016 field was strong--deep--especially compared to the Democrats who had Hillary--then Biden--then nothing. The Omnivore will admit there was something to this. The 2016 field included (includes):

• Six former or present governors--many successful.
• Two pretty well regarded senators (at least by Republican voters)
• Two very well respected and intelligent "outsiders."
• A slate of young, charismatic rising-stars.

This isn't even including Santorum (who won Iowa last cycle) or late entries like Kaisch. This was supposed to be the election that stood in contravention to the 'clown-car' of last cycle (remember 'Crazy-Eyes' Bachmann leading the pack?? Or how about Donald Trump--"Birther-In-Chief"? That was Cray).

Let's view some recent headlines:

• National Review Online: The Field that Failed. "Even if [Trump] fades, though, someone else will have to fill the screen. To this point, No one else has been big or vivid enough to do it."
• The American Conservative: Donald Trump Leads a Failed Field. "What [Trump's] popularity blip reveals is just how weak the right has become."
• Brietbart: Donald Trump's Third-Party Tease Exposes the Failed Republican Brand. "In 1992, a billionaire called the pary's bluff and consigned it to defeat. If it happens again next year, it will again be the fault of the part, not another eccentric billionaire."

Today we see this: Still Pining for Mitt: Some GOP Donors Hoping Romney Will Jump in the Race

Though this election cycle was supposed to feature the most impressive field of Republican presidential candidates in decades, a handful of the party’s major donors and bundlers remain underwhelmed by their options. They are longing for the bad old days, and Mitt Romney is still their man. These holdouts continue to hope that the former Massachusetts governor, who said in January he would not run for a third time, will change his mind. They believe he could dispel the chaos that has reigned over the Republican field for months. Though they gave plenty of money to Romney’s presidential campaigns, this year they’re keeping their wallets shut, waiting for him to reenter the fray.

Well, what about it, Mitt?

The Omnivore has no idea what Romney will do--but it's worth taking a look at the slate of GOP candidates and asking, using an objective True Science(TM) method to determine: Is Our Candidate Strong? Let's check!

Candidate	Potential Strength	Current Polling	Are They Strong?	Well? Strong??
Jeb Bush	Successful Florida (crucial swing-state) governor. Great Latino support (speaks Espanol!). Politics in blood!	7.7%	“Donald Trump ‘emasculating’ Jeb Bush.”	NO
Scott Walker	Fights--and WINS! Totally pisses off liberals just by breathing. Regular guy with cheap shirts!	4.5%	“Scott Walker says building Canada border wall is a ‘legitimate issue’”	No
Marco Rubio	Young! Latio!! Charismatic!!! Won statewide election in crucial swing-state!!!!	6.0%	Marco Rubio: “I’m the fastest person running for president” (he means land-speed--literally)	Maybe
Ted Cruz	Tea Party Hero. Has his own coloring book. Called Boehner a liar. Boehner called Cruz a jackass. Comic-hero is Rorschach. Shut down government with his own two hands	5.5%	Ted Cruz instructs thousands of pastors to violate federal law by reading Sunday sermon he wrote	yes?
Rick Perry	Successful governor of Texas! Tea Party AND Mainstream appeal!! New glasses make him look smert!!! Back for battle with full gaffe recovery	1.7%	Rick Perry loses both of his co-chairs in Iowa	Nope
Carly Fiorina	A WOMAN! Successful CEO!! OF HEWLETT PACKARD!!! RAN FOR ELECTION (lost). DEMON SHEEP!!! SMART. Polished!! Female! A gal!	5.6%	Fiorina surges in polls but it May Be Tool Late for the Debate	We’ll Never Know Now, Will We?
Ben Carson	Black Brilliant Brain-Surgeon. Really Religious! Soft-Spoken. Charismatic.	11.2%	Ben Carson Rising: Is Nice Making a Comeback?	Yes
Rand Paul	Dad was kinda popular. Man of principle. Gave 14 hour speech about doomsday drones. Petulant.	3.2%	Chris Christie, Rand Paul scraping the bottom in new PPP poll	Uh-Uh
Chris Christie	Popular Blue-State governor! Charismatic!! Lost weight!!! Outsized personality!!!	2.7%	Chris Christie: The USA should track immigrants like FedEx packages	NO!!
Bobby Jindal	Popular governor. Smart!! Some kind of immigrant (?). Seems pretty religious. Funny--likable!!! SKINNY!	0.6%	Bobby Jindal: Sanctuary city mayors should ‘absolutely’ be arrested	Did not manage to get through the tiny sliver of space on Trump's right. Nice try, though.
Mike Huckabee	Strong 2008 contender! Former governor. Won some states in 2008. Lost weight. Likable guy.	5.7%	Mike Huckabee to Iowa: Vote for Me or “for God’s Sakes Stay Home”	Nooooot Lookin’ Like It
Donald Trump	Rich. Really Rich. Really, really, totally rich. Not a ‘cuckservative!’ Good body-language. Steely glare.	31.3%	How Donald Trump Uses Instagram to Troll Jeb Bush	YES. Oh, God, Holy Fuck, YES!!