Like a bunch of eager subs waiting for the starters to falter, Republican long shots have signaled their interest in running for president if none of the front–runners begin to win over party activists.
In recent days, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel andeven politician–turned–actor Fred Thompson have openly toyed with the idea of making a bid for the White House.
They are encouraged by the failure of the GOP’s best- known candidates — Arizona Sen. John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — to pull away in the polls or dispel the misgivings of the party faithful about their shaky conservative credentials or turbulent personal lives.
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“Between Mitt, Giuliani and McCain, the Republican invitation to their fundamentalist base says, ‘Stay home. You may as well cook for the kids that day,’ ” said Arnie Arnesen, host of New Hampshire’s Political Chowder television program. “These three guys ain’t going nowhere.”
The unprecedentedly long campaign could also open the door for a surprise contender. Gingrich told The Wall Street Journal that “all the candidates will resemble bad reruns of ‘Survivor’ by August.”
Sen. Mel Martinez, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Tuesday that it’s too early in the nomination process to worry about the lukewarm response to the field.
“One of two things are going to happen, neither of which is a problem,” the Florida Republican said. “Either people will get to know the existing candidates better and make a decision, or someone new will jump in.”
Anyway, Martinez said, it’s important and healthy for the candidates to get “tested” during the primary campaigns so that they’re stronger once the general election rolls around.
But Arnesen countered that the GOP infighting serves to help the most established candidate on the Democratic side: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“You can’t say she’s a flawed candidate because there are so many flaws on the Republican side,” Arnesan said. “If Republicans implode, Hillary becomes an inevitability.”
The wait–and–see strategy of Thompson and others is “brilliant,” said Arnesen, who predicted that GOP party leaders eventually will step in and handpick a front-runner.
“They’re going to go into a back room and say, ‘This ain’t working. We need an actor — like Ronald Reagan,’ ” he said.
