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.”

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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.

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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