A Third Party Makes an Appearance

As if the Republican presidential wannabes didn't have enough to worry about - will Rick Perry ever debate again? could Herman Cain really win in Ohio as the latest polls suggest? should Michele Bachmann take the advice of Iowa caucus members and get out of the race? will Barak Obama spend so much money that he buries all the GOP candidates? does a flat tax, even with opt outs have any chance of getting through even a GOP Congress? - these are serious questions that no one has as yet begun to answer (well, maybe not about Michele; she told CNN last night that she wants to see the hard data on Iowans saying she's toast and Wolf "reindeer" Blitzer promised to get it and share it with her. Isn't he sweet?) . 
With all that to consider, today, we have news of a third party looking for a centrist candidate because they're "fed up" with the GOP conservatives on the debate trail. 
Guess who they're considering - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Hillary Clinton, among others.
Bloomberg says he will not run. I believe him for several reasons. First, he'd have to leave New York City if elected and that is often terminal for real New Yorkers. Second, no New York City mayor has ever been elected president (there's a real connection with the first reason for this negative result). But, Bloomberg, astute politician that he is, realizes this and is staying out. Although he did say several months ago that if asked to be the VP, it would be hard to say no. Now, if we could get a few of the GOP debaters focus on being VP, too, (like Bachmann and Santorum) maybe we could begin to sort through those left.
But, Hillary is a different matter. She has not yet tatooed on her forehead, "NO," but she's very determined to "stay out of politics," as she puts it, after she leaves the State Department. Unlike most, she even rules out being VP. But, last week, Time Magazine had Hillary on its cover, and the editor stopped by to talk to an obliging Wolf on CNN's Situation Room. The editor waxed poetic about her. She is a super star, a diplomat-politician hors pair, the most recognized face in the world, and Time even did a straw poll to support their editor's convictions about Mrs. Clinton. If Obama ran against Romney, he'd beat him, 49-46% in last week's time frame. But, if Hillary ran against Romney, she'd win 55-38%. Now, this may mean that Hillary has the patriotic duty to run and save America.
But, it could also be sending another message. Romney, as I have firmly believed from the beginning, is not the fellow to beat Obama. Their styles are too much alike. Their views are too similar. They make noises that are so "old pol" that I wonder if either one really believes what he is saying about anything or is merely in an "I've got to win this" automatic mode.
So, the Time straw poll might really be telling the GOP to look right before crossing the street if they don't want to be run over by an oncoming black campaign bus named Obama.