Daniels Holding Off on 2012 Decision; Paul, Huckabee In?

Guy Benson | April 26, 2011 10:12 AM

Following yesterday's dramatic news of Haley Barbour's demurral, there has been a flurry of activity on the 2012 presidential front:

(1) Rep. Ron Paul -- the perennial libertarian, isolationist candidate with a devoted following -- is

preparing to launch an exploratory presidential committee. Once he makes it official, Paul's candidacy will have all the trappings and advantages of his last effort: A highly motivated base, the ability to harness large sums of grassroots money and energy, and virtually zero chance of capturing the GOP nomination. Even so, Democratic pollster PPP warns Paul's opponents not to overlook him, pointing to his surprisingly strong favorables among the party faithful. It will also be interesting to see how Paul's campaign is affected, if at all, by the presence of another libertarian in the field, Gov. Gary Johnson.

(2) Gov. Mike Huckabee's erstwhile campaign manager is predicting that his old boss will take another stab at a White House run in 2012:

“He’s receiving quite a bit of counsel and encouragement,” [Ed] Rollins said. “He knows he has roughly a June 1 deadline to decide. Personally, it’s my sense that he’ll go for it this time.” “Governor Huckabee is considering a presidential race seriously,” Mr. Rollins added.

Huckabee's decision may well be influenced by his robust polling position, both nationally and in key early states.