Generic GOPer: The ideal presidential candidate

Democrats have done well by nominating personable politicians with scanty records. The trick might work for Republicans, too

David Frum

John Thune for president? Why?

The famously tall senator from South Dakota is apparently readying himself to seek the Republican nomination, reports Robert Costa in today's National Review Online: "As he settles into a high-backed chair in his private Senate office, John Thune tells me that if he jumps into the 2012 presidential race, he will be in it to win it — no test-run for 2016, no show-horse spectacle. 'The reason you do it is that you really believe that the future is now,' he says. 'I believe that.'"

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David Frum is editor of FrumForum.com and the author of six books, including most recently COMEBACK: Conservatism That Can Win Again. In 2001 and 2002, he served as speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. In 2007, he served as senior foreign policy adviser to the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign.