The '12 GOP field: "a lack of passion for the contenders"

[Clio the Leo]

Many top Republican donors on the sidelines in presidential primary race
By Matea Gold and Melanie Mason, Washington Bureau
April 14, 2011

While the Republican race has yet to officially gel, likely contenders such as Romney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour are trying to nail down commitments from the party's biggest backers. Pawlenty and Romney are the only two who have filed paperwork as candidates, but even they have not yet officially kicked off their campaigns.

"I think many people feel the field is not yet complete and are holding back a bit to see how it develops before they make commitments," said Fred Malek, who was a national finance co-chairman for McCain. "The prospective candidates themselves are taking much longer to reach a decision point, and therefore it would be expected that major donors would be holding back as well."

But several party fundraisers said their wariness was not just a product of the delayed start to the campaign. It also reflects a lack of passion for the contenders — which they said could keep them out of the game until the general election.

"For me to be involved in a presidential election, I have to have my heart in it," said Florida real estate developer Al Hoffman, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman who has been courted by nearly every presidential hopeful. "I have to be emotionally involved and feel the world will come to an end if this person isn't elected. And I just don't feel that way."

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-gop-donors-20110409,0,7472271.story

THIS guy!? NOT INSPIRING? Shocking! lol