Hunter isn't a big name by any means, but his name has good Reagan-era associations for Republicans. He's also a veteran. If he's going to run, it's because a lot of movement conservatives aren't happy with their likely choices.

IMO the title should be changed to 'Duncan Hunter to Announce Vice-Presidential Bid Today", because that's what it really is.

He'd be a great choice to balance Giuliani on the ticket and knows it.

Dave

Good points by both of you. Dave, I don't know a lot about Congressman Hunter, but I'll be looking now.
Baronius, I think you're right.

Hunter-Tancredo in '08! :-/

Seriously though, members of the HoR have almost no chance of getting elected President, or even securing a major party's nomination...

I can think of a few Senators who've been elected, but no one from the HoR who got elected to office except for Garfield who had been minority leader and a popular general as well. I believe John Tyler was a congressman, but he got in as VP and then took over when Harrison died. The only other house members I can think of who've even been nominated were governors or senators first like Polk and Clay.

Dave

I wonder why that is (that HoR members have never been elected, or 'could not be' elected)? I should think they'd have as much a chance as any senator, as long as they were in long enough. Anybody?

Nancy,
I'm as in the dark as you are about it. I hadn't even thought about that aspect until Dave mentioned it.
Good, something else for my curious mind to ponder and look into!

Well, hardly any Senators have been elected, though quite a few have been nominated. Senators are notorious for getting hammered on their legislative records in the campaign and losing.

If you look at the office-holding records of most successful presidential candidates you'll see that they went from the house or senate and ran for governor of their home state or served as Vice President or Secretary of State and THEN they ran from that position for the presidency. That seems to be the best technique.

BTW, one notable Senator to get elected president without holding any other office was Andrew Jackson.

Dave

That IS interesting, but telling: you have to take time out for the public to forget what a corrupt maggot you've been in congress before you can get nominated to anything better, apparently. Jackson, of course, was a HUGE war hero during his lifetime - plus they didn't have the MSM capabilities of today, or I suspect he may not have had such an easy time being elected. As it was, the smearing killed his poor wife, Rachael, who inadvertently married him before finding out her lousy ex hadn't gotten a divorce from her (as he'd claimed)after all. Tyler was also a great war hero, wasn't he? So in order to get elected from the House or Senate directly, you have to pretty much be Colin Powell, it would seem.

You're confusing Tyler with Taylor. Taylor was a big war hero and demonstrated why you shouldn't vote for war heroes because he turned out to have very surprising political beliefs that no one expected. Tyler was just an idiot Virginia aristocrat.

As for the Jackson 'scandal', Rachel's first husband did divorce her, he just did it a couple of weeks late so the paperwork was filed after the new marriage. And despite Jackson's claims, she died of cancer, not actually from criticism. And BTW, many of the claims about her were true - she was an odd woman. She actually did have a beard and smoke a pipe. She supposedly smoked marijuana in the pipe too.

Dave

The House has generally been the more partisan legislature, post-Civil War. If you're going to win a statewide race, or a national race as VP, you've got to moderate somewhat. That probably makes it easier to appeal to the nation. Also, I'd bet that the parties want someone who's proven he can get votes outside one Congressional district. I've got no theory about Secretary of State.

Nancy: Tyler was also a great war hero, wasn't he? So in order to get elected from the House or Senate directly, you have to pretty much be Colin Powell, it would seem.

Wait, are we accusing Colin Powell of being a war hero? 'Cause his only war accomplishment I'm aware of was getting Bush 41 to call off Schwartzkopf before he annihilated the Republican Guard, thus leaving Saddam to slaughter everybody with the wherewithall to try to overthrow him (people who might have come in real handy 12 years later).

Sorry. My vote goes to Hillary in 2008. Ain't no one else worth a damn in my book.

"She actually did have a beard and smoke a pipe."

Was she Italian?

[ducks...]

"Sorry. My vote goes to Hillary in 2008. Ain't no one else worth a damn in my book."

I agree that the political farm system is pretty short on talent right now...but how is Hillary better than Gov. Richardson or Gov. Vilsack?