tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7743530438680774250.post7832834713194216868..comments2023-11-02T05:04:59.172-04:00Comments on Third Base Politics: 2012's first GOP campaign commercial.Nick (aka Bytor)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15826772166599084105noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7743530438680774250.post-74723697348116047712009-04-10T10:02:00.000-04:002009-04-10T10:02:00.000-04:00Just to play devil's advocate.... You claim that,...Just to play devil's advocate.... You claim that, because Sanford is not running for governor in 2010 and because the statehouse can't directly block his action, the only reason he would make the commercial is for the 2012 presidential race.<BR/><BR/>However, there are other reasons for making this ad. First, Sanford still has roughly 21 months to go in his term. If he wants to avoid becoming a lame duck, he needs to be able to explain his actions convincingly to the electorate. (Ask W about how fun it is to govern when your approval ratings are in the toilet, even if you can't run for re-election.)<BR/><BR/>As a side effect, this also helps shore up the Republican party in South Carolina and maintains Sanford's political viability in case he wants to run for office down the road. (For example, presuming the governor elected in 2010 is a Democrat, Sanford might want to run against them in 2014, when he is no longer term limited.)<BR/><BR/>(There are strong reasons to think that Sanford will run for President in 2012. First, he will be out of office, and there isn't another office he can run for until 2014 at the earliest. Both of South Carolina's U.S. senators are Republican, so if they don't retire and Sanford's replacement as governor is also a Republican, there won't be a slot open for Sanford to run again until 2018.... This means that, unless he wants to retire from politics, the only game in town is the Presidency....)DLJessuphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17209048913135396672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7743530438680774250.post-34585239672699681632009-04-09T15:44:00.000-04:002009-04-09T15:44:00.000-04:00Nice clear message. It might be useful to make it...Nice clear message. It might be useful to make it clear that it's a constitutional priority listed in the Preamble that one goal of our nation is to preserve liberty to our future generations. Enslaving future generations to pay for current screwups is unconstitutional.OB1https://www.blogger.com/profile/15731377177618863974noreply@blogger.com