Plausibility

Plausibility:

George Will says there are five plausible candidates for the GOP nomination; plus President Obama, that makes six people to focus your eyes on, if he is right. He states:

[S]ensible Americans, who pay scant attention to presidential politics at this point in the electoral cycle, must nevertheless be detecting vibrations of weirdness emanating from people associated with the party.

The most recent vibrator is Mike Huckabee....

Ah, wait no! That wasn't the line I meant to quote. (Did George Will really just call...? Nevermind.) Here we are:

Let us not mince words. There are at most five plausible Republican presidents on the horizon - Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Utah governor and departing ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, former Massachusetts governor Romney and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty.

John Podhoretz disagrees, and names a few more:

It could be Chris Christie. It could be Paul Ryan. It could be Marco Rubio. It could be Bobby Jindal.

And there is what Hot Air is calling a "scrimmage" in Iowa.

Pawlenty, Gingrich, Santorum, Herman Cain, and Buddy Roemer(?), only one of whom stands a shot at winning the nomination.

The one they mean is Pawlenty.

So, here is the "plausible" candidate list for 2012 according to the leading conservative commentators:

1) President Barack Obama
2) Governor Mitch Daniels
3) Governor Haley Barbour
4) Former Governor and Ambassador John Huntsman
5) Former Governor Mitt Romney
6) Former Governor Tim Pawlenty
7) Governor Bobby Jindal
8) Governor Chris Christie
9) Representative Paul Ryan
10) Senator Marco Rubio

For the sake of argument, let's consider this list. Of these, who is your favorite and why? Are there any that are entirely unacceptable to you? (We will take it as read that conservatives will consider the current President unacceptable; that doesn't need further explanation on this occasion. Any conservatives who intend to vote for him, though, are encouraged to say why -- as are any liberals who favor, say, Haley Barbour.)