Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
I believe the GOP nominee will either be Mitt Romney (still the fave with big business backing) or Rick Perry (will have the backing of the Evangelical Bible thumpers, neo-cons and the Tea Party types). The only one who I think can beat Obama in a general election is Romney. But something tells me that the GOP will bend to the desires of the radical right, so there's a good chance that Perry might win it.
Bachmann is a (lunatic) fringe candidate. She has no chance of winning the nomination, IMO. Ron Paul is probably the most intellectually honest candidate the GOP could possibly have. But the current GOP is not embracing intellect or honesty these days, so I don't think he has a chance either.
Assuming Romney takes it from Perry, here's one problem I see Romney having: in order to beat Perry in the GOP primaries, Romney is going to have to articulate a LOT of extreme right wing positions. But the U.S. is not an extreme right wing country. It's a center-right country. So to beat Perry, Romney is going to give Obama and the Dems a big bat to smack him in the head with during the general election.
But let's say somehow, some way, Michele Bachmann wins the GOP nomination. Well, if that happens, just go ahead and start congratulating Barack Obama on his second term in office. He'll slaughter that crazy eyed nutcase. Other than a win or two in the neo-Confederate/Bible Belt states, she'll be decimated.