Combatbookworm
03-20-2010, 03:38 PM
General touted as 2012 candidate for Republicans
David Petraeus
Alex Spillius, The Daily Telegraph Published: Saturday, March 20, 2010
U.S. General David Petraeus is being strongly suggested as the Republican presidential candidate to stand against President Barack Obama in 2012.
Speculation is growing that the shrewd and articulate commander credited with turning around the Iraq war is contemplating a run for the White House.
Next week, he will deliver a speech at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, a traditional staging post in the state where the first presidential primaries are held every four years. Each of the last eight presidents has spoken at the college on the way to victory.
It will be the latest in a series of engagements where the head of U.S. Central Command -- which covers the Middle East and Central Asia including Afghanistan -- has veered into foreign policy discussion.
Gen. Petraeus has consistently denied any ambitions to run for the presidency, once joking, "What part of 'No' don't you understand?"
Nonetheless, he has repeatedly brought the issue up. When questioned about whether he planned to bring out a book at a recent appearance, Gen. Petraeus insisted on answering by denying that he had political ambitions.
Colleagues have begun joking about it. At the annual Washington Alfalfa black tie dinner in late January, Robert Gates, the Defense Secretary, was heard to remark that Gen. Petraeus could not make it because "he had an engagement in Iowa," where the first caucuses are held.
Steve Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, said, "Everybody who knows him or spends time with him has always thought he would have a chance, and he does nothing much to dissuade them. His closest advisors don't deny the logic."
John Feehery, a well-connected Republican strategist, said the general would be a popular and formidable candidate. "If Petraeus were to run, he would be a serious contender," he said. "His positions on certain issues are not well known, but his leadership ability is well known and respected."
Last October in The New York Times, Peter Mansoor, a retired Army colonel and professor of military history at Ohio State University who was the executive officer to Gen. Petraeus when he was the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said, "General Petraeus has not hinted to anyone that he is interested in political life, and in fact has said on many occasions that he's not.
"It is other people who are looking at his popularity and saying that he would be a good presidential candidate, and I think rightly that makes the administration a little suspicious of him."
Gen. Petraeus, 57, was catapulted to fame when then President George W. Bush sent him to Baghdad in early 2007 to carry out the "surge" that helped rescue Iraq from civil war.
His strategy is now being used in Afghanistan. He would bring national security credibility to what is considered a weak Republican field. Sarah Palin is regarded as too divisive and Mitt Romney has had trouble connecting with ordinary voters.
The general has described himself as a "Rockefeller Republican" -- probusiness, socially liberal -- but hasn't voted for several elections to preserve his independence.
He may lack the stomach for the campaigning, fund-raising and political dealing needed for a run at the White House, however.
Timing is also against him for 2012 as he would have to leave his command late this year while the Afghan war continued. Some associates have urged him instead to push for the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the pinnacle of any military career.
Palin or Petraeus, that is a tough one..... With the amount of talened people in the United States (like Petraeus) it is totally incomprehensible how someone who lacks the basic intelligence to conduct an interview would even consider running for the most difficult job in the country. Totally mind blowing, but I really hope he does run at some point.
David Petraeus
Alex Spillius, The Daily Telegraph Published: Saturday, March 20, 2010
U.S. General David Petraeus is being strongly suggested as the Republican presidential candidate to stand against President Barack Obama in 2012.
Speculation is growing that the shrewd and articulate commander credited with turning around the Iraq war is contemplating a run for the White House.
Next week, he will deliver a speech at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, a traditional staging post in the state where the first presidential primaries are held every four years. Each of the last eight presidents has spoken at the college on the way to victory.
It will be the latest in a series of engagements where the head of U.S. Central Command -- which covers the Middle East and Central Asia including Afghanistan -- has veered into foreign policy discussion.
Gen. Petraeus has consistently denied any ambitions to run for the presidency, once joking, "What part of 'No' don't you understand?"
Nonetheless, he has repeatedly brought the issue up. When questioned about whether he planned to bring out a book at a recent appearance, Gen. Petraeus insisted on answering by denying that he had political ambitions.
Colleagues have begun joking about it. At the annual Washington Alfalfa black tie dinner in late January, Robert Gates, the Defense Secretary, was heard to remark that Gen. Petraeus could not make it because "he had an engagement in Iowa," where the first caucuses are held.
Steve Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, said, "Everybody who knows him or spends time with him has always thought he would have a chance, and he does nothing much to dissuade them. His closest advisors don't deny the logic."
John Feehery, a well-connected Republican strategist, said the general would be a popular and formidable candidate. "If Petraeus were to run, he would be a serious contender," he said. "His positions on certain issues are not well known, but his leadership ability is well known and respected."
Last October in The New York Times, Peter Mansoor, a retired Army colonel and professor of military history at Ohio State University who was the executive officer to Gen. Petraeus when he was the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said, "General Petraeus has not hinted to anyone that he is interested in political life, and in fact has said on many occasions that he's not.
"It is other people who are looking at his popularity and saying that he would be a good presidential candidate, and I think rightly that makes the administration a little suspicious of him."
Gen. Petraeus, 57, was catapulted to fame when then President George W. Bush sent him to Baghdad in early 2007 to carry out the "surge" that helped rescue Iraq from civil war.
His strategy is now being used in Afghanistan. He would bring national security credibility to what is considered a weak Republican field. Sarah Palin is regarded as too divisive and Mitt Romney has had trouble connecting with ordinary voters.
The general has described himself as a "Rockefeller Republican" -- probusiness, socially liberal -- but hasn't voted for several elections to preserve his independence.
He may lack the stomach for the campaigning, fund-raising and political dealing needed for a run at the White House, however.
Timing is also against him for 2012 as he would have to leave his command late this year while the Afghan war continued. Some associates have urged him instead to push for the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the pinnacle of any military career.
Palin or Petraeus, that is a tough one..... With the amount of talened people in the United States (like Petraeus) it is totally incomprehensible how someone who lacks the basic intelligence to conduct an interview would even consider running for the most difficult job in the country. Totally mind blowing, but I really hope he does run at some point.