How bad are the Republican candidates?

The Republican party seems to be made up of such a smorgasbord of opinions that it's probably going to be difficult to find someone that everyone can agree on, and someone who can beat Obama. It surprises me that the polls show that Obama leads most of the Republican candidates when his approval rating is so low, but I suppose some believe it's better to keep what you know than maybe get a pig-in-a poke. Even so, I don't know why anyone would want him reelected.

Well, first there's Ron Paul and Gary Johnson. After that, they run the gammit from "meh...sorta kinda not as bad as dropping rocks on your foot" to "OH GOOD GOD NO!" Honestly, this is likely even worse than the last round of Republican candidates we had. We have the standard issue republicans, Romney, Sanatorium, Gingrich, et al. Then there is the Tea Party crowd- Bachman, Cain, etc...all posing as libertarians but are nothing more than standard issue Republicans with a touch of religious ideologue (I don't need to be protected from religious extremists by more religious extremists, thank you) who are very selective in their constitutional fidelity and philosophies of liberty. Foot note. There was a poll done on Fox news's website. the results came in overwhelmingly for Ron Paul. The same day, the poll disappeared from the site. The sad fact is that no republican that the party "Illuminati" or Fox news doesn't want is going to win the nomination. I will likely be voting for the Libertarian party candidate this election.

Perry has been the governor of our great state for a long time, so I never considered him to be the answer. And then there is Romney, who is quick to change his stand on the issues which ruled him out for me. Personally I like Herman Cain quite a bit, but I am not sure he will be able to get enough support to win the nomination. Maybe the fact that Perry and Romney seem to be the two that are most likely to win the nomination is exactly why they are looking for more options.

Imagine a Millionaire Republican President who would not raise taxes to save his country, with his hand on the flush handle ready to flush America down, to save his bank account and the accounts of his friends.

they're all quite bad in my opinion besides Mitt Romney. Romney seems like a good person from what i can see and i might vote for him. the others i don't care too much for though. Rick Perry for him is a been there done that type of candidate. Hes George W. Bush 2.0. Just another governor from Texas is enough to not get me to vote for him. Everything that seems to come out of Michele Bachmanns mouth just about doesn't seem to be accurate. yeah right, $2 a gallon of gas. Maybe if we go into another recession then yeah we will have $2 a gallon gas. More then anything I'm just interested in having politicians working as a team when it comes to all parties. I hope they all lose their next election so there can be some fresher faces in to try and get things done. I may give vote for Romney though. Obama's still good in my view. its just no one will work with him.

The Republican candidates are not 'bad'. They are 'typical' of politicians. The country right now is faces the consequences of years of believing we can borrow our way out of over spending. Unfortunately we are at an impasse. The left has borrowed our way into a hole. This is forcing Republicans in a situation where the public doesn't want to cut spending, but at the same time we simply can't increase borrowing. So the current crop of Republicans can't answer questions because whatever the answer, people will be mad. If they answer they simply need to borrow more money, their faced with how to deal with Americans unsustainable Obama deficit of $1.6 Trillion. If they answer we need to cut welfare, social security, medicare and so on, then everyone gets pissed because they want all their free programs. I dared to point out that Social Security was broke, and people came out of the woodwork to slam me for trying to "scare seniors" and such. People don't want to hear the truth. They are willing to believe almost anything but how the situation really is. So of course the politicians don't have an answer. It really doesn't matter who the Republicans ran. They could pick a communist, a Stalinist, a Nazi, a Democrat of any flavor or ideology... no one can say the truth, and thus they can't answer those questions honestly, because they won't be elected. The last person to tell the truth was GWB, and everyone hated him for it. Instead you accused him of lying about it, and making up stuff. None of which valid. People want lies. That's why Republicans are not answering questions and you say they are bad.

At first I thought Perry was going to be the answer but the more I learn of him the less I like him. I also wanted Romney back in 08. I thought we needed a person with business experience. I was again Obama when I learned he supported partial birth abortion when he was a Senator. All he has done is threaten vetos and give stump or campaign speeches. Christie has said he will not run but some don't seem to believe him. I think he would be good. But some have been putting pressure on him to run. He has said again today that he will not run. I like Herman Cain batter than the others so far.

Well the party and the media have two different agendas, although both are looking for a similar result. They both want a candidate that can win and won't change the status quo. Ron Paul can definitely win a general election, and Herman Cain might be able to, but both would also change the status quo if they were elected. The media WANTS our hand in nearly every government on the planet. They like knowing that there's a chunk of the US in 130 countries across the globe. When someone like Ron Paul talks about cutting back on that, he becomes a threat to the media. Suddenly he's an isolationist for not wanting to control other governments. He believes in free trade, but the last thing the media, or the RNC wants, is for you to know what free trade actually is. That's why you'll never see clips of him explaining how the "free trade" agreements we have with certain countries are actually managed trade. The RNC doesn't control either of them. If the party can't control them, the party doesn't want them in the white house. McCain sold out in 2008 to get the republican nomination. Romney has shown that he's more than willing to sell out on any and every issue to win. In Rick Perry's case, he's actually consistent enough that selling out wouldn't be as obvious in his case as it is in Romney's. Chris Christie will not run. I don't think the RNC would want him either. He's a libertarian and far too independent for them. People want him to run though because he's governor of a state so far to the left it borders on communism at times. Even in a state as left wing as New Jersey he's managed to balance the budget without tax hikes, fund the pension for government employees that was raided by his predecessor, and actually make difficult choices that upset some people because he knows the end result is worth it. After all that his approval still stays above 50% despite constant campaigns by the unions bashing him. I know, because as a county employee, I get these stupid union emails all the time.

I think the republicans are trying to find another Ronald Reagan and all of these candidates are, as they say, weighed in the balance and found wanting.

TheGreatDebater, I still support Obama and think he's a great president. There are many things I wish he could have done differently, but overall, I'd pick him over any other candidate. He knew his approval rating would go down after being elected, because he knew that it would take a while before the economy would go back up. And I know a lot of Americans are frustrated right now because they have lost their jobs, but the fact is, getting the economy to where it should be, after Bush completely obliterated it, is not as easy as that. It will take a while for his plans to take effect, and it will take a while before every starts feeling their impacts. The Republican candidates this year are pathetic. Really. Rick Parry? First of all, after Bush, I don't know if I can trust anyone from Texas anymore. The stuff he says is ridiculous, and he doesn't seem to know what he's doing or what side he's on. Mitt Romney is the "businessman" of the group, and I would be skeptical if he became president, because for one, I don't believe in conservative values about the economy, with the trickle-down theory and everything. And I think he's just going to focus on businesses and the upper class, and cause more problems to the economy. Michele Bachmann is simply the next Sarah Palin: she wants to get rid of the minimum wage and all taxes. Ron Paul is the only guy that's OK...he's a libertarian and supports some liberal policies, which I like. And the rest...they'll just never win.