Here's a really good, sensible piece...

...about the race for the Republican nomination, "How Big 2012 GOP Field Could Boil Down to Three":

When all is said and done, the race for the 2012 GOP nomination may boil down to just three serious contenders: former Governor [Mitt] Romney of Massachusetts, former Governor [Tim] Pawlenty of Minnesota (above), and Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi. 

I agree. Throw in a Quixotic tea partier or two (Michele Bachmann and Rand Paul are the latest candidates du jour), and you have your 2012 field.

So who gets the privilege of losing to Obama, er, I mean -- the prize?

Pawlenty could wind up on top by default as the least objectionable.

Again, I agree. T-Paw checks all the boxes: evangelical Christian, fiscal conservative and (soon to be) foreign policy hawk.