Best Chance for GOP

[Keystone Phil]

Allen and Santorum have a great shot at winning the nomination (that is, if both can survive re-election). Sanford also has a good chance of being the nominee and Pawlenty could be the dark horse in this one. However, when you narrow is down to who has the best chance to win the General election, it would be either Pawlenty or Allen.

[Keystone Phil]

George Allen, Mark Sanford, Tim Pawlenty, and Bill Owens.

by the way, can some of you Republicans explain why Tim Pawlenty and Bill Owens are among the top tier candidates that you would nominate as your presidential candidate?  i don't know too much about them apart from the states that they are governors of, so i am not as familiar with these two as i am with Allen and Sanford. 

They're both popular Republican governors of swing states.  They both have legitimate fiscal conservate credentials while their social postions wouldn't piss off the base.  Neither of them come off as harsh as Bush and therefeore wouldn't be as widely hated by the left's base.

I always thought Pawlenty and Owens were social conservatives.

[Keystone Phil]

George Allen, Mark Sanford, Tim Pawlenty, and Bill Owens.

by the way, can some of you Republicans explain why Tim Pawlenty and Bill Owens are among the top tier candidates that you would nominate as your presidential candidate?  i don't know too much about them apart from the states that they are governors of, so i am not as familiar with these two as i am with Allen and Sanford. 

They're both popular Republican governors of swing states.  They both have legitimate fiscal conservate credentials while their social postions wouldn't piss off the base.  Neither of them come off as harsh as Bush and therefeore wouldn't be as widely hated by the left's base.

I always thought Pawlenty and Owens were social conservatives.

Yes, that's what I'm saying; they're social conservatives with good records of balancing budgets and keeping spending under control.  Acceptable to both the base and more libertarian minded members such as myself.

I'm sorry. I misread what you said. You stated that their views wouldn't piss off the base.