The GOP desperately needs a spokesperson

Contrast this with President Obama’s attitude in the run-up to the 2008 election. Part of what made candidate Obama so appealing to so many is that he pursued his party’s nomination with a certain spiritedness, despite the long odds he faced against prohibitive favorite Hillary Clinton. He was as opportunistic as they come, bashing George Bush at every stop, taking on the Democratic establishment, raking in huge sums of money and building his legendary campaign network by laying out a soaring vision for the future.

Presidential campaigns are almost always more about the last four years than the next four, but someone has to stand up and make the choice clear to the American people. Perhaps Sarah Palin believes she is doing this, but while her Facebook missives and tweets tend to grab headlines, no one is compelled to take them seriously since she has no skin in the game. Until she, or Romney, or one of the other GOP pretenders is willing to put their behinds on the line, it’s all just white noise in today’s media.

And that may be worse than silence.

Adam Salmon is a proud graduate of the University of Kentucky and was formerly in operations management at a D.C. think tank. He is currently on the prowl for a position on the Hill. Follow him on Twitter @adamjsalmon.