While it is apparent that the Republican presidential nomination will likely go to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney or Texas Governor Rick Perry, the 2012 GOP presidential contest is far from over.
According to a
Gallup Poll analysis issued this week, Rick Perry leads in GOP favorability; however Herman Cain is a close second.
Positive intensity scores of potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates (Gallup):
Aug 29 - Sept 11, 2011
Rick Perry: 24
Herman Cain: 22
Rudy Giuliani: 18
Mitt Romney: 16
Michele Bachman: 10
While the Gallup figures demonstrate the competitive nature of this race, former Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking with Fox News, dismissed the candidates that he was "not enthusiastic about," saying that they were not likely to get the Republican nomination.
Mr. Cheney's comments did not agree with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who is currently ranked fourth in
polling averages collected by Real Clear Politics behind Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Sarah Palin.
“But when he says he’ll support all Republicans except some, like myself, which means that he wants to be the dictator and say I will decide who is a true Republican or not,”
Paul told the Houston Chronicle.
The Paul campaign further dismissed the remarks by Mr. Cheney, describing Cheney in
comments posted on the campaign's web site as the "consummate Bush Republican."
Dr. Paul will be spending much of the upcoming week in Iowa before heading down to Orlando for the Fox News presidential debate.
