Republicans Can Stop Waiting for 2012 White Knight: Albert Hunt

Godot isn’t likely to show up for the Republicans. Like the characters in Samuel Beckett’s play, the Republican establishment probably will wait in vain for a white knight -- Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are the most oft-cited -- to rescue the party’s presidential prospects.

The Republican field seems set, with the major contenders likely to be former Governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah, and possibly Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. This assumes that Bachmann and Huntsman will enter the race; the party’s 2008 vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as well as Texas Governor Rick Perry, may, too.