There are way more than seven GOP politicians ready to run. I put the list right now at about 12, give or take a dwarf.

And there'd be more except that John Thune withdrew from the race a month or so ago.

Most of the rest of the GOP gang showed up in Washington a few months ago to try out their acts at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Generally speaking, the candidates spoke with one voice–for God, guns, and Ronald Reagan. They were uniformly against health care, taxes, and Barack Obama. (Have I mentioned that the conference was about a quart low on new ideas?)

The 10,000 attendees listened to all of the speeches, then made Ron Paul, the Texan flat-earther, their choice for president. (Did I also mention that its sense of reality was running on empty?)

Ironically, the only Republican that a clear majority of Americans could pick out of a police lineup–Sarah Palin–failed to show up at the conference. She and Mike Huckabee, the comfort-food candidate, were busy organizing their sock drawers. Or something.

To call the Republican field weak is to understate the obvious. It's a collection of has-been (Newt Gingrich, Haley Barbour, Mitt Romney), never-were (Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Mitch Daniels) and “who's he?” candidates (Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman).

The real problem the Republicans have, however…is the fact that no Republican who can win the general election in 2012 can be nominated. Call it the tea party effect.