Gary Johnson as Ron Paul's Successor

[bobbyw24]

By W. James Antle, III on 2.11.10 @ 1:37PM

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has been making the rounds in Washington libertarian and conservative circles this week, possibly in anticipation of a presidential bid in 2012. As I type this, The American Spectator and Americans for Tax Reform are hosting a Newsmaker event for him, but our omnipotent government cannot keep snow off the train tracks on a sunny day, so I was unable to go. Perhaps my colleagues who were in attendance can offer a different perspective, but it seems to me that Johnson has one advantage and one disadvantage over Ron Paul, the man Johnson supported for president in 2008.

The big advantage: Johnson was a governor and has wielded executive power. Not only do governors have a much better track record of being elected president than congressmen -- the last man to go straight from the House to the White House was James Garfield -- but it helps bolster the case for Johnson as a government-cutter. Ron Paul has an . . .


http://spectator.org/blog/2010/02/11/gary-johnson-as-ron-pauls-succ

[kkassam]

A roundup from GJ's trip to Washington:

Philip Klein at The American Spectator Lunching With Gary Johnson (http://spectator.org/blog/2010/02/11/lunching-with-gary-johnson)

David Weigel at The Washington Independent ‘Next Ron Paul’ Bids for Libertarian Support:
Former New Mexico Governor Preparing 2012 Run (http://washingtonindependent.com/76332/next-ron-paul-bids-for-libertarian-support)

Mike Riggs at The Daily Caller Gary Johnson scolds Republicans for Medicare scare tactics (http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/12/gary-johnson-scolds-republicans-for-medicare-scare-tactics/)

Matthew Bandyk at The Daily Caller Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson courts Ron Paul’s libertarian base (http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/11/former-new-mexico-governor-gary-johnson-courts-ron-pauls-libertarian-base/)

VIDEO: Gary Johnson chats with Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie Full Version (http://reason.tv/video/show/gary-johnson-full-interview), Condensed Version (http://reason.tv/video/show/gary-johnson-interview)

[RyanRSheets]

While I would love to see Gary Johnson run, and I think he would do very well, I think Ron may have a much better chance. Ron has name recognition now, and the only person who can beat him is Sarah Palin. I honestly don't think Romney or Huckabee have the clout of Ron Paul at this point; I never hear their names anymore aside from when Huckabee's show comes on.