Reagan, Bush, and Dole were all well respected by Republican primary voters. McCain, on the other hand, won by sucking the least. Romney's problem is that a good section of the conservative base doesn't like him or believe him. Otherwise, he would have been the nominee in 2008.
Personally, I think Romney is the only guy in the projected field who can stop Palin. That's due to his money, but he would need a large field to spread out the vote. If Huckabee doesn't run, most of his support goes to Palin. How in the world do Newt and Romney compete with her then? Sarah has all of the grassroots energy.
Jeb Bush only runs as a "white knight" choice. In other words, late next summer or early fall it becomes apparent that no one in the projected field can stop Palin and the party decides they must field someone who can compete with her. That's where Jeb comes in to the fray.
I just can't see the tradionalist Republican party allowing Palin to march uncontested to the nomination without a real fight. That's the main reason I keep coming back to this argument. Some of the conservative commentators with whom I trade emails feel the same way. Palin is the prohibative favorite.
Jeb basically said this morning on Morning Joe he's not running......