[Haley Barbour] is also showing a willingness to challenge conservative consensus on some issues.
At an appearance in Iowa last week, he said he was not certain that the United States should have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, given that most Al Qaeda fighters are across the border in Pakistan, suggesting he might take a different approach to the war from the one advocated by most in his party. While many Republicans say their support for budget cutting does not extend to the military, Mr. Barbour said the Pentagon should not be exempt.
“Anybody who thinks you can’t save money at the Pentagon has never been to the Pentagon,” he said, drawing applause at a Republican dinner in Davenport. “If we Republicans don’t propose saving money on defense, we won’t have credibility on anything else.”
And you can never, ever have raised taxes -- ever:
There is no doubt about [Mike] Huckabee's record during a decade in Little Rock as governor. He was regarded by fellow Republican governors as a compulsive tax increaser and spender. He increased the Arkansas tax burden by 47 percent, boosting the levies on gasoline and cigarettes.
And -- for the love of God -- don't ever go soft on social issues:
And then, [Mitch Daniels] says, the next president, whoever he is, "would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues. We're going to just have to agree to get along for a little while."
No, the Republican Party standard-bearer in 2012 will be someone hawkish on foreign policy, inflexible on taxes and a darling of the religious right. Who fits that description the most? Maybe ... T-Paw.
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