Hillary Clinton - I can not imagine her overcoming the animosity against her in the Republican party. The two-party system today is so closely balanced that a candidate must draw voters from both sides in order to win. I just can't see Hillary doing that.
Barack Obama - He just strikes me as so young and inexperienced. He scores way, way high on style, but pretty low on substance (in my humble opinion), largely based on his age. Nevertheless, given our current culture, it is possible that someone could get into the White House based on style alone. I sure hope not, though.
Mitt Romney - He has strong business experience and is running as a social conservative, which should get him into the heart of the Republican party, BUT...he is Mormon. Let's be honest: social-conservatives of the GOP are evangelical Christians, and although the rest of the world may confuse Mormon's with Christians, the evangelicals sure do not. The Christian right is not ready for a mormon president.
Mike Huckabee - Here's the one I voted for, because he is, well, great on the social-conservative issues. But I expect his background as a Christian preacher may make him unpaletable for everyone outside the Christian-right camp.
John McCain - The face of a war hero, seasoned, and appeal that could stretch across party lines. Just two strikes against him: he is not a social conservative, and he is the sole proponent of continuing the Iraq buildup, which is unpopular. Nevertheless, he has already reached across party lines by being progressive, and if he picks a social-conservative VP to appease the Christian right, then this race will be his to lose.
The moral here: A candidate in today's politics must have appeal across the full spectrum to win. McCain is the closest to that.
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