National Governors Association and Beyond

So the Governors met over the weekend, and in the process, according to the Telegram and Gazette, some of the Republicans used that forum to position themselves as possible 2012 preidential candidates. Those Republican Governors mentioned in Beth Fouhy's AP article as possible GOP contenders are Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, South Carolina's Mark Sanford, Florida's Charlie Crist and Mississippi's Haley Barbour. Governor Sarah Palin was at home working with the Alaska Legislature on her state's budget, but was characterized in the article as being "arguably the Republican Party's biggest star." If Sarah Palin is the Party's "biggest star" then the GOP runs the risk of becoming irrelevant.

Nominating Palin as the next Republican presidential candidate would have disastrous consequences to the Party and the country. We need and the country needs an intelligent, articulate woman or man who has the ability to project into the future, analyze various situations and streams of data and reach solid, well-grounded conclusions. The Republican presidential nominee should be someone who has studied history and understands other nations and their cultures. Although the Republican Party is in a shambles across the U.S. and throughout Massachusetts, we should be able to come up with a presidential candidate whose main qualifications are not confined to appearance and personality. If by 2012 we are not able to succeed at this, we may dissolve into true irrelevancy.

Telegram & Gazette, Feb. 23, 2009, A1, "GOP governors lay groundwork" by Beth Fouhy, Associated Press
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090223/NEWS/902230295/1116/NEWSREWIND

Boston Globe, Feb. 23, 2009, p.A10, "Some governors torn over stimulus" Associated Press
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/02/23/some_governors_torn_over_stimulus/