Joe Scarborough, secretly referring to himself: "I think Paul Ryan's message, not his budget, put in the right hands of the right candidate, does get people excited". And then he takes the message and runs with it.

If not you, Joe, who?


If not now, when?

Seriously.


If not you, who?

If not now, when?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

GOP Strategist Mark McKinnon on Joe Scarborough joining the 2012 GOP Presidential Race: "He'd light up the boards immediately if he were to take the step (of running) and I encourage him to do so"

Just imagine the parade of party insiders that would rush to a Scarborough campaign.


People (and donors) like a winner.


Unlike the losers currently running for the 2012 GOP nomination.

Huffington Post's Andy Ostroy: "Daniels Out. Time for Scarborough?"

One trial balloon up.


Will others follow?


Joe Scarborough's a smart fellow.  I hope he's keeping the door open.  Because it's WIDE FLIPPING OPEN right now.  Waiting for a white horse to ride through.


Here's Ostroy:

Back in September 2009 I wrote a piece on why MSNBC's Joe Scarborough would be a viable threat to President Obama in the 2012 election:

"Scarborough's been smartly playing the moderate card lately, which is not what we can say for some of the other 2012 "front-runners" like Palin, Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee. These guys are so fringe in their ideology that they could never appeal to the all-important middle."

Those words ring even truer today as the pack of Republican hopefuls still primarily comprises either the most radical group of Tea Baggin' loons like Gingrich, Palin, and Michelle Bachmann or snoozers like Tim Pawlenty. Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump and Mitch Daniels are out of the race, leaving the supposed front-runner status to Mitt Romney. But he has several major obstacles to overcome, including his Mormon faith, his own ObamaCare-like program while Massachusetts governor, and the fact that he's already lost once before. And while the GOP is desperate to have "attractive" candidates like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. run, the ground clearly remains quite fertile for an outsider like Scarborough to toss his fleece into the ring.

The word on the street is that Huntsman's the GOP's best bet. Also a Mormon, he was appointed by Obama and served as U.S. Ambassador to China from 2009 to April of this year. He's a fiscal conservative who backed Obama's economic stimulus, and has moderate views on civil unions, immigration and the environment. But the mountain he has to climb is quite steep. He has zero name recognition, lacks major charisma, worked for Obama and is seen by many in the party as too "liberal." As the Conservative Daily News wrote, "What did Jon Huntsman, Jr. forget, you ask? Simple, he forgot conservatism. Huntsman has mastered the art of pandering to his inner liberal. He maintains a sterling record in fiscal matters but has a nasty habit of straying from conservative principles."

This tepid support from the right to the current GOP pack should convince Scarborough that the party faithful is waiting for a skilled politician with personality and name-recognition to enter the race. Someone who is centrist enough to attract independents without offending the base, and tough enough to face an incumbent president whose popularity is growing.

Joe Scarborough says Huckabee was the only candidate (in the current field) who could have beaten Barack Obama. Another hint that he's going to have to enter the race himself, to get 'er done?

It's kinda fun, knowing what we know. So when you see a video like this one, in the back of your mind you're thinking - 'he knows. he knows he's going to run, and he's framing it so that when he enters, it'll be because he HAD to do it, for the good of the country'.

Enough with the tease Joe.

Get in.

It's time.

And you know it too.

"I think Mike Huckabee could have beaten Barack Obama.  I don't think there's anybody else in the (current field) that I can say that about today" - Joe Scarborugh, May 16, 2011

AP: Cable talk show host Joe Scarborough throws wrench in 2012 GOP presidential nomination field - announces exploratory committee for presidential run. Seen as favorite to win nomination by GOP insider.

NEW YORK, NY - Former Republican house member and current MSNBC morning show host Joe Scarborough today surprised the still-assembling GOP field by announcing the formation of an exploratory committee for the 2012 GOP nomination - the prelude to a run at the presidency.

"It's well established that the country is currently on the wrong track, even though I have a firm belief America's best days lie ahead," said Scarborough, announcing his run via a YouTube video upload this morning.  "If the Republican Party is going to unseat Barack Obama in 2012, we're going to need to get back to our core values - limited government, pro-business, personal responsibility, low taxes, balanced budgets, rational foreign policy, and above all an undying optimistic view that America truly is a shining city on a hill," continued Scarborough.

Republican political operative and former McCain advisor Mark McKinnon said today on Fox News that Scarborough immediately became the person to beat.

"Joe Scarborough is a centrist, clear-thinking and well positioned mainstream candidate, throwing his hat into a ring made up of lightweights, hypocrites, profiteers, ideologues and frankly unelectable losers and misfits," based McKinnon, to the apparent displeasure of Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy.  "He has two things the others don't - he's likable, and he can win".

Scarborough, 48, represented the Florida first district from 1995 to 2001.  He currently hosts "Morning Joe" a news talk show on cable network MSNBC.  His future appearance plans on that program was not addressed in today's statement.

Blog note - I find the current headlines boring, and waiting for Joe Scarborough to do the right thing is trying my patience. So from time to time, I'm going to feature some "virtual reality" posts - headlines and articles ripped from future newspapers on Joe Scarborough and his run for the presidency in 2012

First Read Report on GOP: "2012: Not exactly a 'Field of Dreams'"

Actually, they're being kind.

The current 2012 GOP Presidential field is a joke.

A joke.
 
A joke.

But alas, change is coming... 2012 will see a big, BIG surprise. GOP insiders are working the phones, corralling the donors, making the deals. They know their current lineup of losers has no shot - no shot - at upsetting Obama. And they know the one candidate who can win (even though the Tea Party will splinter off). And they're gonna get their man.

Joe Scarborough.

It hath been foretold.


2012: Not exactly a 'Field of Dreams'

“The first Republican debate of the 2012 presidential race could be defined by who wasn’t there,” The Hill writes. “Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be the biggest name attending Thursday night’s gathering in South Carolina, and even he is unknown to most voters.”

Philadelphia Inquirer "GOP desperately seeking a viable candidate for 2012". Yes, indeed, they are. And the most obvious, best positioned possibility is waiting for the call. It's time for the Joe Scarborough trial balloon.

Interesting state-of-affairs view from Philly, with a trial balloon for Fred Karger (who?).

Forget that one - how about the real zinger.

Someone in the MSM please send it up.

Joe Scarborough.

Here's the view from Philly:



Their nomination process is orderly; they generally gravitate to a front-runner, someone who tried and failed before (Ronald Reagan in 1980, George Bush senior in 1988, Bob Dole in 1996, John McCain in 2008), or someone with stellar insider connections (George W. Bush in 2000). Not this time. Romney is usually on top, drawing roughly 20 percent of the likely Republican primary voters - the worst posting for a Republican front-runner since Gallup began tracking the party contest in 1952. And when Republican voters were asked in mid-April, by the New York Times-CBS News pollsters, to cite the candidate they were most enthusiastic about, 57 percent couldn't name anybody.

The void is so huge that even Rudy "9/11" Giuliani said Tuesday that he's keeping "the door open" for a presidential bid. Yeah, he's exactly what the restive Republicans are looking for. The first time he ran, in 2008, he spent $60 million and won exactly one delegate, which strikes me as the polar opposite of fiscal conservatism.

So why the void? For starters, it's no easy task to confront an incumbent who figures to raise and spend $1 billion. Second, many of the likely '12 aspirants are having trouble raising sufficient early money, because donors are holding back. And they're reluctant for the same reason that the Republican base is ill-disposed: The '12 hopefuls have more baggage than an airport carousel at Christmas.

Romney is a human weathervane who's still trying to deny his moderate gubernatorial record in order to pander rightward. Pawlenty is going the same route, having renounced his belief in man-made global warming. Huckabee ticks off the party's antitax zealots because as a governor he raised taxes. Huntsman, who will soon step down as U.S. ambassador to China, is tainted because he (gasp) worked for Barack Obama. Gingrich and Bachmann are fun on the stump, but the only way either of them will get to the White House is with a visitor's pass.

And Trump? He seems like a passing spring squall. Conservatives who love his birther bilge will sour on him once they learn about his liberal past, notably this line from one of his books: "We must have universal health care."

Just for fun - here's the video of Seth Myers destroying (yes, destroying) Donald Trump

Joe Scarborough has to be watching this thinking, 'this guy's leading the pack?'. I mean, seriously? Seriously?

Actually, it is a bit delicious. America is laughing at the current GOP field. It's a joke - the entire lot of 'em. When they're looking for a change, they get a joke.

Well, Scarborough ain't no joke. If he runs, he wins. It hath been foretold.

Enjoy The Donald's destruction. That was easy.

Well played Seth and Obama. Well played.

Joe Scarborough named to Time Magazine Top 100, and a glowing write-up from possible VP nominee Michael Bloomberg

Again, this is all going to seem so obvious in a few months - at least to the few privileged readers of this tiny little blog...

• Lousy GOP nominee field - check
• Need for a centrist candidate who can win - check
• Nominee with high name recognition - check
• Someone who can carry Florida - check
• A candidate who appeals to Reagan Democrats, independents, soccer moms and GOP mainstream - check
• Hated by the lunatic rightwing nutjobs - check

Here's Michael Bloomberg, telling it like it is.  If Chris Christie declines the nod, Bloomberg will be Joe's man.

The 2011 TIME 100

Meet the most influential people in the world. They are artists and activists, reformers and researchers, heads of state and captains of industry. Their ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution. Welcome to this year's TIME 100

Joe Scarborough - by Michael Bloomberg

As a group, cable-television talk-show hosts are not exactly known for independent political analysis that is free of partisan favoritism, but that is exactly what makes Joe Scarborough, 48, so refreshing — and so important. Joe's approach to politics is the same as mine: call 'em like you see 'em, and even if people don't agree with you on every issue — and they won't — they will respect you for being honest. They will know you are not shilling for a party or an ideology. And they will do exactly what you would hope any voter — and any viewer — would do: listen with an open mind and come to their own conclusions.

On every issue, Joe speaks his mind without fear or favor, because he puts his country before his party. He served for seven years as a Republican Congressman from Florida, but he is a patriot before he is a politician or a pundit. That independence is what makes Joe Scarborough such a valuable voice in American politics. And it's what makes Morning Joe such a successful show. (That, and of course the real star of the show, Mika Brzezinski.)

Bloomberg is the mayor of New York City

Joe Scarborough picks his side in upcoming GOP civil war, as he destroys the televangelists

Joe Scarborough is smart.


He sees the upcoming GOP civil war, and he's chosen his side.


He's on the side of Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan. He's on the side of Chris Christie and Peggy Noonan. He's with the team of smaller government, lower taxes and the adults and intellectuals.


The other side? It's Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, the Tea Party, and the Religious Right.


Let the battle begin.  The GOP can no longer hold both sides together, so time to split up.  GOP, welcome back.  Fringe Tea Party and Religious Right idiots - good luck with your 10%.


Scarborough was the first major Republican to call Sarah Palin what she is - a get-rich-quick conman. And here he is, the first Republican I can ever recall taking on the televangelists. Bravo. Bravo, bravo, bravo.



"Too many other televangelists still pollute the airwaves begging for money while preaching the glories of the prosperous life. Jesus’ emphasis on servant leadership and humility obviously never penetrated the mind of these foul creatures." - Joe Scarborough in Politico, April 2011

Potential Vice President candidate (running with Joe Scarborough on the dream ticket) on Morning Joe

This will all make sense to folks by Fall.

When will Joe Scarborough announce his bid for the 2012 GOP nomination? The correct answer - not until Fall 2011. He doesn't need to.

Here's Joe a few weeks ago, on Today:


"People that want to run think they can wait later"


OK. True that. And he already said that Iowa doesn't matter. And he knows he can win New Hampshire AND Florida easily - fluke of geography.


So... when will Scarborough announce?


My guess: Not until Fall 2011. After none of the announced GOP candidates gain traction, Scarborough rides in on his white horse, and says he has to do what's best for the party, and the nation.


And on to New Hampshire he'll go.  And he'll win.

Here's Joe on Iowa, if you're interested...

"In the past, Iowa caucus, have selected a lot of people that didn’t move past Iowa. Mike Huckabee last time. The religious right has a very strong foothold on the Republican Party. You’ve now got Mitt Romney saying what John McCain said four years ago, I’m just going to skip it."

Joe Scarborough on running for President: "You never know".

You know what's most encouraging about Scarborough running?


1) He's hated by the tea baggers and the right wing ignorant wingnuts who've hijacked his party
2) He's on MSNBC, not Fox News
3) He appeals to centrists more than liberals or conservatives
4) He's telegenic, interesting, media-savvy and someone you want in your living room (unlike the creeps, bores, frauds and weirdos running for the GOP nomination)
5) He's authentic, and speaks his mind, like it or not
6) He has the courage to say we need to cut entitlements, and balance the budget NOW
7) He has the courage to say we need to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq NOW
8) He appeals to women (unlike the scary creeps running for the GOP nomination)
9) He's unexpected, and his candidacy will throw a big wrench into an otherwise boring GOP race
10) He can win (unlike any of of the other GOP candidates)

Joe Scarborough calls Republicans cowards - "afraid of Barack Obama" and "don't think they can beat him"

It's one thing to call out other Republicans for being cowards.

It's another thing to do something about it.

Yes, the GOP field is afraid of Barack Obama. They don't think they can beat him. And that's why you have self-promoters and wingnuts running. They're not running to win. They're running to enrich themselves.

And then there's Joe Scarborough. If everyone else is a coward, what will be Joe Scarborough's true stripes?

I bet on Joe.




"...They are afraid of Barack Obama. They look at a President that's sitting at a 50 percent approval rating, 9 percent unemployment. He's been pulled to the...middle by the Republican victory in 2012. They just don't think - and if you look at the candidates that could beat Barack Obama they just don't think they can beat him in 2012."

Joe Scarborough isn't conservative enough for birthers, truthers and tea party idiots. So be it. While they're sitting at home in 2012 wondering why their candidates didn't win, Joe Scarborough will be writing his inaugural address.

Scarborough (as usual) brings up a good point - if you don't hate the president, and if you don't run around talking about where he was born, you're not a true Republican.

Idiots, ignorants, wingnuts, lunatics and fringe birthers/truthers have hijacked the GOP (thank you Fox News and Sarah Palin).  2012 will be a GOP civil war.

And a smart, clear-thinking, approachable, fiscal conservative/social moderate, center/right candidate will eventually win out.  Let the Tea Party idiots be damned.  America laughs at the tea partiers.  Their sell by date has long since passed.  And Scarborough smartly knows it.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

FLASH - Joe Scarborough turns down GOP Florida Senate run. Doesn't rule out 2012 GOP Presidential run.

As always, read between the lines.


The Senate is too small for Joe.


The Presidency isn't.


Here's the denial today - and the still-on-the-table presidential run.


Joe Scarborough: GOP Asked Me To Run For Senate In Florida

Scarborough, though, confirmed the report. "John suggested last month that I consider running for the Senate against Bill Nelson," he said. "His intent was clear and unambiguous and echoed his quotes in The Hill. However, I love the job I have and have no intention of running for the Senate."

Jamie Malanowski: "The Making of President Scarborough 2012". Ronald Reagan 2.0?

If Joe runs, it will have seemed so obvious the whole time.

If Joe doesn't run, he'll have blown the one and only chance he'll ever have.

Here's Playboy's managing editorJamie Malanowski telling it like it is.

The Making of President Scarborough, 2012
By JAMIE MALANOWSKI

I don’t know if Joe Scarborough is running for president, but he is sure doing all the things he would need to do if he were.

Over the last few years, Scarborough has taken some cues from the Ronald Reagan playbook. Like Reagan, Scarborough has maximized his best natural asset–his amiability–to position himself as a true conservative who is everyone’s friend and no one’s enemy. And like Reagan in the early seventies, Scarborough has stood aside from the political hurleyburley, with its exhausting fundraising and inconvenient votes, and taken up residency in the soft pastures of media punditry.

Just as Reagan was able to forge his political identity with his radio program, Scarborough is building his brand on MSNBC, where every morning, an audience of taste-makers sees him as friendly, self-mocking, staunch about defense, ardent about fiscal control, someone who admires the president without being smitten by him, someone who agrees with a lot of Republican values without being impressed with their tactics. The bestselling book he published at the beginning of the summer, rather melodramatically called The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America’s Promise, puts Scarborough in a fairly interesting place: squarely in the flow of mainstream values, but far, far, far from the fringes. 

Joe Scarborough announces his platform (via twitter): "Balance the budget. End the war. Rebuild America, not Afghanistan.

Keep it simple Joe.

It's a winner.

Here it is:


Balance the budget. End the war. Rebuild America, not Afghanistan. 11:02 AM Mar 6th

Joe Scarborough, sounding like he may have the courage, and the reason, to run in 2012: "For the past two decades, I have spent my public life obsessing about America’s coming debt crisis"

If Joe Scarborough sits this one out, he'll regret it for the rest of his life.  And America will suffer the consequence.

If he runs, he wins. And he gets to take on the problem president after president after president after president hasn't had the courage to address.

Courage.  That's it.  Soon, we'll see if Joe Scarborough has courage, or whether he's just another GOP empty suit, in it for the money.  

I bet on courage.  I bet on Joe.

Finally, confronting the debt crisis


For the past two decades, I have spent my public life obsessing about America’s coming debt crisis.

When I first ran for Congress in 1994, my campaign was obsessively focused on the national debt. In 1995, I attacked Bill Clinton for refusing to endorse a seven-year plan to balance the budget. I voted to shut down the government. I refused to support raising the debt ceiling to $5 trillion. It now stands at $14 trillion. I was attacked by Newt Gingrich in 1998 for being a member of the “perfectionist caucus” because the speaker threw in his lot with Democrats such as Dave Obey to jam through bloated spending bills. And I was with the small group of conservatives who told Gingrich to lead as a conservative or get out of town.

I spent the next decade criticizing my own Republican Party for its shamelessness on government spending. During the Bush era, many GOP members would campaign as small government conservatives and then spend their time in Washington breaking every spending promise they made to voters back home.

The $155 billion surplus we built up in 2001 became a $1.4 trillion deficit by the end of the Bush years. The overall national debt was doubled. A $7 trillion liability was added to America’s bloated entitlement system. Two wars were fought, two tax cuts were passed, defense spending exploded at record rates and domestic spending grew at its fastest rate since the Great Society.

Republican presidents, senators, congressmen and party hacks hated me for exposing them as the hypocrites they were. I preached the doctrine of moral equivalency because, for too long, there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between Republicans and Democrats.

Well, it looks like that 10-year-old sermon topic is about to change. And it’s about damn time.

The era of Big Government conservatism is over.

Here's GOP strategist Mark McKinnon a year ago floating Joe Scarborough as the 2012 Republican Nominee on Hardball. And most of the rest of his top 10 are running.

McKinnon's smart.

His top 10 - a year ago:

1. Mitt Romney (in)
2. Tim Pawlenty (in)
3. John Thune (out)
4. Mike Huckabee (whoring himself for money)
5. Sarah Palin (whoring herself for money)
6. Newt Gingrich (in)
7. Haley Barbour (in)
8. Rick Santorum (in)
9. Joe Scarborough (the nominee if he runs)
10. Mitch Daniels (in)
(Long shot: Michele Bachmann) (in)

Joe Scarborough has a secret. Hear him predict his own entry into 2012 GOP campaign: "I still believe that the eventual Republican nominee and just maybe the next president has not yet declared an interest in running"

Get the feeling Joe's got a little secret he just can't wait to share?


He knows he's running, but he can't tell anyone (yet).  So he drops subtle little hints like this one, works to frame the upcoming debate (before he enters the debate), tackles his opposition (before he becomes their opposition), and sets the table for what he knows will be a successful run for the 2012 GOP nomination.


In a way, it must suck to have to play that game.  But in another way, it must be a hoot.


You know you'll be the next President of the United States.  But you can't tell anyone.


Oh, man, that must be rich.

Christopher Buckley: "Joe Scarborough Can Save the GOP"

When Joe announces, it will have seemed so obvious. Just so darn obvious.

Here's Christopher Buckley writing in 2009 in The Daily Beast, after Scarborough's book "The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise" had hit bookshelves (yes, if you put out a book like that, you're running):

I’ve found the new face of the Republican Party. It’s not a new one, entirely, and it’s been hiding out on national television every weekday morning from six to nine.

There’s been a lot of talk lately among Republicans about the need to find a new face for our party. Rush Limbaugh’s and Dick Cheney’s are, let’s face it, a bit scary. John Boehner’s looks like it wants to sell you a used car. Mitch McConnell’s looks like that of the accountant who’s explaining to you why you can’t afford the car that Mr. Boehner is trying to get you to buy, no money down.

So we Republicans have a Face Gap with the Democrats, who—let’s face it—have the best one of all in Mr. Obama.

Well, I think I’ve found the new face of the Republican Party. It’s not a new one, entirely, and it’s been hiding out on national television every weekday morning from six to nine.

Joe Scarborough.

"President Scarborough? "Morning Joe" Would Be a Viable Threat To Obama in 2012"

Great post from 2009 by wonk Andy Ostroy. He was right then, and he's even more right today.

You wonder why more in the blogosphere or MSM aren't picking up on the obvious. Scarborough is setting up a run in 2012.

The ever-shrinking right-wing-nutjob base can have Sarah Palin. My early money for the Republican Party's next presidential nominee is MSNBC pundit and former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough.

In case you haven't noticed, this Joe has been more ubiquitous lately than a cup of Starbucks Java on a New York morning. He's everywhere these days, all dressed up (suits vs fleece) with only one place he'd probably love to go: the White House. And if he plays his cards right, he could give President Barack Obama a very difficult challenge in 2012.

Scarborough's been smartly playing the moderate card lately, which is not what we can say for some of the other 2012 "front-runners" like Palin, Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee. These guys are so fringe in their ideology that they could never appeal to the all-important middle.

So what does Morning Joe have going for him? To begin with, he has legislative experience, having served Florida's 1st Congressional District from 1995-2001. And, having the hometown advantage in this hotly contested state would be a huge asset in a run for the presidency.

Joe Scarborough / Chris Christie. There's your 2012 GOP nomination and winning presidential ticket. Landslide. Powerhouse. And exactly what America needed, exactly when America needed it.

Obvious.

And a landslide.

It hath been foretold.

Joe Scarborough, setting up "outsider" run at 2012 GOP nomination, destroys Glenn Beck: "He’s bad for the conservative movement. He’s bad for the Republican party. He’s bad for Fox News. It’s that simple"

More on the courage front from Joe.

First he destroyed Sarah Palin.

And now he's (thankfully) leading the charge from within the GOP to destroy paranoid racist idiot Glenn Beck.

Bravo.  Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo.

Run Joe Run!

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough took a little time to comment on Glenn Beck’s recent comments (and blackboard diagrams) connecting union protests in the U.S. to the myriad revolutions and demonstrations popping up in the Middle East.

“I’ve been telling conservatives for about two years,” said Scarborough, in between bites of breakfast, “this guy is bad for the movement.” Scarborough – himself a Republican – added that, “this guy [Beck] is losing it before our eyes. He’s bad for the conservative movement. He’s bad for the Republican party. He’s bad for Fox News. It’s that simple.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Joe Scarborough, who has the courage to go after members of his own party when they're idiots (Bush, Palin, etc), asks, "Am I Not Conservative Enough".

Joe Scarborough will win the GOP nomination in 2012, and go on to win the presidency, because he possesses what something that the Mitt Romney's, Sean Hannity's and Sarah Palin's of the world lack.

Courage.

It takes courage to stand up to your own party.  It takes courage to tell your friends they're wrong.  It takes courage to do the right thing.

Joe has courage, and that's what people will want, big time, in 2012.

Here's a great post from Joe at Townhall.com from 2010, defending his record against a smear from just another (one of many) boot-licker in his party, Brent Bozell:

Brent Bozell thinks I have fallen from the ranks of true conservatives and wrote a scathing blog on his website listing my offenses against Republicanism. Judging from the harshness of his tone, you would think that I threw my lot in with a pack of pot smoking Greenwich Village Marxists or, at the very least, lent grudging support to the public option.

But no. My crimes against conservatism were much worse. Brent Bozell has accused me of committing the unpardonable sins of saying unflattering things about George W. Bush, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

The truth is that while I campaigned for President Bush and supported him in both of his runs for president, I became disillusioned with his presidency earlier than most. I wrote the book "Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day" in 2004, and predicted if Mr. Bush and the GOP Congress didn't stop spending money at such a reckless rate, they would lose their majority and wreck the Congress.

more here

Looks like Joe Scarborough plans on skipping the bible-thumper-beauty-pageant Iowa caucuses in 2012. Smart move.

Joe's basically saying Iowa is a bunch of bible-thumping social conservatives, who'll vote for the preacher (Huckabee, Pat Robertson), so why run if you're a serious candidate? You'll just lose. And Iowa is no longer relevant - winners don't win.

You heard it here first. Joe Scarborough will run, but he'll skip Iowa, and start with New Hampshire, and then sail right into Florida. 2 for 2. And the next GOP nominee for president.

It shouldn't be that easy. But it is.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Scarborrough: In the past, Iowa caucus, have selected a lot of people that didn’t move past Iowa. Mike Huckabee last time. The religious right has a very strong foothold on the Republican Party. You’ve now got Mitt Romney saying what John McCain said four years ago, I’m just going to skip it.


How do you make sure that Iowa remains relevant and, more importantly, mainstream to the national Republican Party?

Strawn: Well, I think the first takeaway when you look at the results four years ago it was who finished first and second? It was Gov. Huckabee and it was Gov. Romney. Now, what was the common denominator between the two? They spent time in the state. They went around the state, talking to our farmers and co-ops, talking to our voters in coffee shops. That’s the Iowa caucuses.

Scarbourough: You know what else they have in common? They didn’t win. So, how do you make sure people don’t say, you know what, all the social conservatives are going to win Iowa. We’re going to ignore it and start in New Hampshire. Has the party looked at that? Have you been concerned about that?

Strawn: I don’t see a problem with Iowa Republicans, when you look at where we were just last November. No question it was the state that launched Barack Obama on the path to the White House. But think about it, we elected a Republican governor for the first time in 12 years, we won the Iowa House back. We won a net gain of over 100 county-level seats in eastern Iowa, which was Obama country. So I think we’ve proven you can elect electable Republicans in the state of Iowa.

Scarbourough: No doubt about it. I’m just talking about the caucus. And again, I’m know knocking social conservatives. They elected me in 1994. I’m just saying, there is a perception even among Republican candidates now that the most socially conservative person wins Iowa so if you’re not socially conservative, like Romney, on all the issues you skip it and and go to New Hampshire.

Strawn: Yeah, but I think each individual caucus has its own issue set. And if you look at the challenges facing the country right now — let’s take a look at what our candidates plans are for balancing the budget? What are our candidates’ plans for getting serious with entitlement reform? We had Gov. Barbour in Iowa on Monday and he made some headlines with some tough talk on entitlement reform.

Scarbourough: By the way, I think Haley’s finding some space there, Mark Halperin. I think Haley’s going to find space talking like Chris Christie.

Halperin: If he does get in, he will be all-in in Iowa. He’s a social conservative but he’s also going to stress economic issues. I think the chairman’s right. Social conservatives will play a big role. But the party is so focused now on economics, that that’s going to be a bigger part of the debate than usual there.

Joe Scarborough Parade Interview: 'I May Feel the Need to Run for Office Again'

Say it IS so Joe.

Say it IS so.

It is your time.

Do you watch the Sunday morning political shows?
No. We do shows three hours a day, five days a week, so whatever guests are on, we've already had them.


Do your youngest kids, Kate, 7, and Jack, 2, watch the show?
Kate will watch me occasionally, but the show's not on in our house in the morning when they're getting ready for school. They'd rather see Scooby Doo or Spongebob than Daddy talking about the latest Wall Street Journal editorial. You do what you have to do to get your kids ready for school.

In November, you were suspended for two days after it was discovered you'd donated money to candidates in Florida, which NBC employees can't do without permission. What did you do during those days?
I got to do something I never do, which is go to Starbucks and read The New York Times until 7 a.m. I took my daughter to school on the East Side, which was a lot of fun. And I admit I played Call of Duty, one of those war video games.


What's your advice to incoming Congressional freshmen?
Move your family to Washington, Do not listen to consultants who tell you to keep them down in the district for PR purposes. Do not miss your children's childhood. Do not be away 200 nights a year as I was. Do not put strains on your marriage or family.

Have there been moments--say, during the tax debate in December--when you wished you were back in Congress?
Not yet. I think I may at some point. We have more influence doing the show. There are 435 members of Congress. There's one Morning Joe show. Hopefully, we can keep hammering the argument that you can disagree with other people and have debates but remain civil.


"At some point"? How seriously are you considering a return to politics?
My wife always tells people, "He's not going to be able run to for anything because I'm not going to let him start a campaign." Look what's happened to Barack Obama over the last two years or George Bush for eight. It's a blood sport. But at some point I may feel the need to run for office again.


What would make you?
An absence of leadership. The same thing that had me run the first time, in 1994, when I felt the country was veering off dangerously in the wrong direction. If Washington continues to fumble issues like taking care of the debt, getting the troops home, and rebuilding our economy, my wife and I may sit down and say, "These are critical things and maybe we need to get back in the ball."


Might that ticket be you and New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, as the rumors say?
If someone could figure out which one of us has the capacity to be vice president, I'd like that person to explain it. I've been around Mayor Bloomberg, and people who've been around me would laugh at the notion that either of us [could settle for being second-in-command].


You and Joe Biden have both let expletives slip on air, so you're already prepared.
So I've got that! Okay!

"2012? Joe Scarborough's Appearance On The View Today Could Have Doubled As A Campaign Platform" - Business Insider

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the next President of the United States of America - Joe Scarborough (as of yet unannounced GOP presidential candidate 2012)

Intrade - Joe Scarborough to win 2012 GOP nomination odds