David Petraeus

Don't know enough about him to be considered!

No, we are not separating states from the union, and he is only good at fighting wars not emotions, next please...

The General is exactly that. He is an officer in the United States Army. By military regulation and standard he is NOT ALLOWED to discuss political affiliations while serving in his current office; after he separates/retires from the armed forces its free range. As such, he will not compromise his position as the commander of Operation Enduring Freedom by sounding off his political beliefs and allegiances. We will have to wait for him to do so, but one can rest assured a general officer, commander, USMA West Point graduate and Harvard alumni WILL stand for a logical and reasonable platform based upon real world experiences and critical theory. It’s a damned good dichotomy we do not see in the political world. We have never had a candidate of his military background. Think of this, Eisenhower may have been a general, but he was a theatre commander for Europe in WWII. Petraeus has led CENTCOM, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. From those offices he has natu... Read more

This is my "Dark Horse" pick for the Republican nomination in 2012. Of course, he's still serving on active duty, so we really don't know Petraeus's political inclinations either way. Whether he becomes a political candidate will depend on how or if Obama wants him to continue serving at Central Command. If the President replaces him, and he retires from the Army, he might be pressured by Republicans to make a run. Given his record in Iraq, I suspect he's more of a pragmatist. That might make him a very good General Election candidate. But I'll say again that no one really knows if he truly has political ambitions. Given the weak field of potential prospects for 2012, the party might just decide that an outside the box pick might be what the doctor ordered. UPDATE: I continue to maintain Petraeus as the ultimate dark horse pick for GOP nomination in 2012. In recent weeks we have seen some disagreements arise between Obama and Petraeus over the timetable to depart Afghanist... Read more

I'm concerned with the idea of a military mind occupying the White House. Not only because he is bound to take orders from those behind the scenes, but the potential financial gain from back room deals makes me wonder. The military industrial complex exists to crank out non discriminate weapons, bombs, and bullets to make $ubstantial profit$. They don't care about body count, friendly fire, son's, daughter's, mom's and dad's that die in the line of duty. Unfortunately, with out some form of conflict or war, weapons manufacturers, dealers, and their share holders serve no purpose.

I have nothing but great respect for him, and the country feels the same way. He'd make a terrific president, but I don't think he'd want to run. VP maybe???

He's a leader with the more than credible bona fidas (read the CENTCOM's web page to understand the scope of the man's current responsiblities). He's managed huge organizations with multi-billion dollar budgets. He's the author of a successful international strategy employed by a military that respects him. He's a graduate of two of the nation's best universities: West Point and Harvard. He's respected by world leaders. Congresspeople on both sides of the aisle respect him. He's one of the top members of the vocation most respected by the American people: US military officer (that's polling data people, not me making it up). He's been shot and survived. His three drawbacks are he hasn't really experienced the microscope of a campaign, he hasn't made his political views completely apparent (considers himself a "Rockefellar republican"? Okay.), and he's got cancer (that was caught early and he's being treated for).

A bit of a stretch. We haven't sent a General to the White House in a couple generations now and its been a mixed bag from a historical standpoint when we have. As an added bonus any opponent has a fantastic choice of footage featuring Dubaya singing his praises to make a bad association with for voters that still throw things every time you say Bush.

he will not run.

No more generals please!

He would be a good pick for Secretary of State, not for Presidency. He's just not ready.

Don't get me wrong I think General Petraeus is a great honorable and honest man, I just don't feel he has the experience required to run the entire country. He would be much better suited as Secretary of State, or a position where his main focus is foreign relations.

Clearly this item is an allusion to the potential candidacy of Numbah16tdhaha, who will be of electable age by 2012.

Petraeus??!?!?....isn't he a mythological god or something.

I do not doubt that Petraeus will manifest political ambition eventually. It is always a toss-up which party these military figures will align with. Is anyone really sure he is Republican?

He has integrity, would he qualify to be President of the United States on that alone? I would consider voting for him.

The 1 rating is not of the General...it is a rating of his chances as a Presidential candidate. This country no longer appreciates its true heroes.

He's a great general, but he's avoided politics up to this point. Nobody knows where he stands on anything.

I think the religious right part of this party would rather have Dr. Zaius than Petraeus.

he's the only candidate i'd vote for over sarah palin, if only he's run!

The General is brilliant, but totally non-political. He would be a great candidate, but he will not be a candidate. Unless you really want it, who needs it?

Way too early to have an opinion on this.  And there are way too many people in line before him, people currently in politics.

A Petraeus candidacy would be thinking outside the box, but it would have strong appeal to a number of key voting demographics. He would be 60 in 2012. He has stated repeatedly that he has no political ambitions, however, and there's no reason not to believe him.