One More Into The Breach: Former Gov. George Pataki Close To Announcing 2012 Presidential Run

As if the current Republican presidential field wasn’t big enough, former New York Governor George Pataki is considering a campaign of his own, according to anonymous sources close to the former governor. But how well would he fare as a candidate?

Pataki has been touted as a potential candidate for the past few months, but now he is very close to entering the race. However, a potential Pataki campaign would be slightly marred by his liberal positions on issues like abortion in addition to what some perceive as a less-than-impressive record on spending.

State Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan explained why Pataki’s economic record would not serve him well in the race:

Pataki the first two years was great, then we went on a spending binge… The federal debt runup was rivaled only by what we did in New York under George Pataki.

The general reaction of Republicans to a moderate like Pataki entering the race can be best summed up by this quote from an anonymous GOP insider.

Among a lot of New York Republicans the general sense is that it doesn’t make sense.

There are currently over a dozen candidates in the field — a field made up of fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, civil libertarians, Tea Partiers, and moderates. What’s more, Pataki doesn’t have the charisma of a Sarah Palin or a Rick Perry. If anything, a Pataki candidacy would ring similar to Tim Pawlenty’s.

And we all know how that ended.

h/t NY Daily News

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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