Frum: Is There a Dark Horse Candidate for 2012?
Parker-Spitzer asks David Frum:
This time we talk with David Frum, the Editor of FrumForum.com and a former speechwriter for George W. Bush. He is set to appear on "Parker Spitzer" this evening Thursday, November 4, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Parker Spitzer: Were the results of Tuesday’s election a confirmation of the confidence U.S. voters have in the Republican Party or rather an opportunity to regain confidence?
David Frum: Do you know those experiments where a lab mouse presses one button and receives a food pellet and presses the other and receives a zap? What if both buttons administered zaps? That's the recent experience of the American voter. They vote Republican in November 2004 – and get deterioration in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and stagnating wages. They vote Democratic in November 2006 and get a recession and financial crisis. They vote Democratic again in November 2008 and get a failed stimulus bill and a health reform full they mistrust. Now it's November 2010 – we'll see what they get next time.
Parker Spitzer: Who are some of your dark horse candidates for the GOP presidential ticket in 2012?
David Frum: Who WON'T be running in 2012? The GOP's core problem is this: Sarah Palin commands more enthusiasm than any other Republican - even as the party's elected officials, donors, and policy people recognize her as impossible both as a candidate and as a president. The trouble is that the preferred candidate of those party leaders, Mitt Romney, is probably unacceptable to the party's voting base. So look for those leaders to scurry to produce an alternative acceptable both to insiders and to base: Tim Pawlenty? Mitch Daniels? John Thune? Jeb Bush?
Parker Spitzer: You’ve benefited greatly from the blog platform. How has blogging changed your approach as a journalist?
David Frum: I write faster, I write more, and I write shorter. Plus I spend much more time answering reader comments.
