No major GOP candidate has officially announced any intention to run for the presidential nomination in 2012.  However, the field of speculation continues to grow.  It is so wide open that this has grown into a series of articles instead of just one on the topic.  In the first article, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, and Newt Gingrich were all featured.  In the second part, we focused on Gov. Haley Barbour, Gov. Mitch Daniels, and Jon Huntsman.  Article three was about Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Donald Trump.  The last installment of this series examined Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Rudy Giuliani.  And now we have the relative unknowns that may be jumping in the race or are have already made the jump.

One such unknown is Buddy Roemer, former governor of Louisiana and a former congressman.  Roemer served as governor from 1988-1992.  He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party in 1991.  In March of 2011, he announced that he had launched an exploratory committee for a potential run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. And he promised to be like Mike Gravel was in the Democratic primary last time—he will be the one making everyone else uncomfortable and will likely be ignored by mainstream media and shunned by his own party.  Roemer has stressed that campaign finance reform would be a key issue in his campaign. Pledging to limit campaign contributions to $100 per individual, Mr. Roemer promises to ask big money raisers Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman a single question at the presidential debates. (He’s still waiting for the invitation to the opening debate on May 2.)  “I’m going to ask, ‘Where did you get your money?’” he said.

We also have Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.  Cain has suggested he might run and if he does, he will likely be entertaining.  He is known for his inflammatory remarks, but may just be the most honest of all potential contenders.  He spent 2010 addressing 40 Tea Party rallies and visited the early presidential states.  He set up an exploratory committee in January when he announced his potential presidential bid. Cain told the Union Leader in New Hampshire that if he does follow through in mounting a campaign, he’ll rely on his business credentials and radio talk show host experience to advance his ambitions.

Last but not least is Jimmy McMillan.  You may remember McMillan from the New York State governor’s race.  He ran on the Rent is Too Damn High Party and became an internet sensation.  McMillan was a registered member of the Democratic Party but in December of 2010, he said that he would run as a Republican in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, to avoid a primary challenge from President Barack Obama. He believes that his greatest political strengths include a mastery of social media, an ability to pinch pennies, and inimitable political vision. McMillan appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2011.

These are the likely candidates for now.  There are also those that say they aren’t running, but some have their doubts.  And there very well may be some other contenders that crop up.  After all, it will be a long 18 months until the presidential electionin2012.  Stay tuned.

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Sarah Palin and Donald Trump are starting to share more similarities than differences.  They are both reality show stars, for one.  But, now they are both mounting ‘pretend’ presidential campaigns, even though, in all likelihood, neither of them will actually run.

The former Alaska governor told Fox News last week she is “still thinking about” running for president in 2012, and she feels “tempted” to do so because she questions the other potential Republican candidates’ motives.  “I’m still wondering who the heck is going to be out there with a servant’s heart willing to serve the American people for the right reason, not for ego, not for special interests, not with obsessive partisanship,” Palin, a paid Fox contributor, told the network’s Greta Van Susteren in a lengthy interview.

However, evidence is mounting that Palin will not enter the fray in the next election.  She has not begun to build any campaign organization or visit the crucial early primary states.  Palin has not hired additional staff; instead her staff is shrinking.  She recently parted ways with two of her most experienced political operatives, Jason Recher and Doug McMarlin, both veterans of the Bush administration.  Sources suggest that the parting was not sudden and that Palin is simply downsizing.

The polls also indicate that Palin should not mount any political bid.  Her popularity has been decreasing in the past few months.  Even pundits on the conservative end of the spectrum have begun to criticize Palin.  Her reality television series and her daughter’s stint on Dancing with the Stars have made it difficult for some to take her seriously.

Palin, who often complains about the ‘lamestream media,’ told Van Susteren that she didn’t care about the media any longer.  “I’m through whining about a liberal press that holds particularly conservative women to a different standard, because it doesn’t do any good to whine about it,” she said. “Nobody ever promised life was going to be fair. And politics really isn’t fair, the scrutiny, the double standards, and all that.”

In all likelihood, Palin will continue to dangle the “will I or won’t I run” carrot for a little longer.  She seems to really like being in the media spotlight but I think her mind has been made up for a while.

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