When I look at the cast...

...of characters frequently mentioned as possible Republican candidates for president in 2016, I think to myself, okay, so they're not exactly the clown car from 2012, but they're not a whole lot better.

Check out that montage above. Of all those thought to be weighing a bid (and there are many, many more) I can only picture one, Jeb Bush (for his temperament), in the White House. The rest are just too difficult for me to imagine in the Oval Office.

I mean, come on, President Chris Christie? A guy who goes around yelling at everybody? That just doesn't strike me as . . . presidential. Some Rust Belt city councilman, maybe, but certainly not Leader of the Free World. (I have trouble, honestly, seeing Christie as a governor.)

President Rand Paul? A soft-spoken little guy with funny hair whose father is widely regarded as a crackpot? Not exactly Reaganesque.

How about President Mike Huckabee? A preachy Gomer Pyle-look alike without the military bearing? Oh, and did I neglect to mention that the former governor of Arkansas and ordained minister is the first male in his family to graduate from high school? Ever?

And while I'm on the subject of academic credentials, don't forget that Scott Walker is a college dropout. While the Wisconsin governor is quick to point out that Harry Truman was elevated to the highest office in the land with only a high school diploma, it's worth noting that the 33rd president was born on a farm in Missouri in the nineteenth century. Also, Give 'Em Hell Harry wasn't the leader of "the stupid party," as Gov. Bobby Jindal called the GOP a couple of years ago.

I could go on and on (President Rick Perry? Ben Carson? Ted Cruz?), but I think you get the idea.

So where am I going with all this? Just to say that, hey, go ahead, Mitt Romney, run for the Republican nomination! Of all the pros and cons I've read about a Romney '16 campaign in the last week or so, I figure, with the possible exception of Jeb -- and I agree with Mitt: he probably can't beat Hillary in the general* and certainly won't excite anyone in the GOP -- he's as good a candidate as any this time around. Give it a shot! The more, the merrier, as Rand Paul would say. These wannabees have nothing on you.

* With the economy on the mend, would anyone stand a chance against Hillary in 2016? I doubt it.