The battle amongst a host of Republican candidates with varying degrees of ideology is heating up for the nomination to challenge Barack Obama for the presidency in 2012. Powerhouse names such as Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Mitt Romney are dominating the media.

But as Republicans begin side up and decide who stands the best chance to beat President Obama in 2012, they must keep in mind that the recent sweep into power was not a Republican referendum, but a rejection of the socialist policies of the Obama administration.

Popular Republican candidates such as Jeb Bush and Chris Christie have already emphatically ruled themselves out as challengers in 2012. Of course this has never meant much in politics, but in the case of Bush and Christie, it stands to reason that it is just not the right time for either of them to run.

Chris Christie is undoubtedly a rising Republican star and his time is sure to come, but that time is not now. It is too early in his career and the country is not ready for another untested President. Jeb Bush simply has the wrong last name. It is just too soon for most Americans to stomach another Bush in the White House, and despite being one of the most qualified candidates, would lose on name recognition alone.

Newt Gingrich has been a workhorse in the Republican Party for decades. Sarah Palin is currently the face of Republicans, and the face of everyday Americans. Either one of these two candidates could easily carry the Republican base in the primaries and win the nomination. But winning over the base of conservatives is not going to beat president Obama in 2012.

- J Michael Nelson

Newt Gingrich defines what it means to be a conservative and is the leading voice for traditional values with a resemblance to Reagan conservatism. Sarah Palin is a rockstar in the Republican Party and draws crowds by the thousands, but is nationally polarizing to a fault. The problem is the regular folks are just not going to vote for candidates this far to the conservative right.

In addition to attracting new and young voters in 2008, Barack Obama owes his victory in large part to the independent voters who found something in his platitudes of hope and change that they themselves could believe in. If Republicans are going to take the White House back in 2012, they are going to have to focus a message of truth towards the disillusioned independent voter and earn back their trust. Republicans and Democrats alike will always vote with their base, but the independent voters decide elections.

The election in 2012 is not going to come down to Democratic progressivism or Republican conservatism. It will come down to the issues facing everyday Americans around the dinner table. In the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis and a high level of unemployment with future uncertainty, Americans want somebody who can fix the problem and return some sense of security back to their lives.

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To this end, the best choice for Republican nominee in 2012 is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Mitt is a lawyer by education, and has amassed a large personal fortune of more than 0 million. One of Mitt’s greatest achievements was his taking over a financially destitute and corrupt laden Olympic body in 1999. By the 2002 Winter Olympics, Mitt had ended the corruption and turned the Olympics into a financial windfall.

The primary crisis that our country currently faces, and will still face in 2012 is our looming debt and out of control spending. There is no better person to put in the White House to fix the economic crisis than Mitt Romney. He is the most qualified to personally make the best decisions necessary to get the country back on track without the pandering of economic advisors.

In addition to Mitt Romney’s economic expertise, he also has unique experience with the implementation of universal health care in Massachusetts. Although hailed for it at the time, he now looks back at it and sees things he would’ve done differently to avoid the debt crisis it has caused the state. Short of Republicans being able to repeal Obamacare altogether, Mitt would also be the best suited to deal with the crisis.

Finally, what Mitt Romney has that many of the other front-runners do not have is the ability to carry the independent vote. Mitt is seen as a moderate Republican. At times he has even been accused of being a flip flopper because of his positions on abortion and healthcare in the heavily liberal state where he was a Republican governor.

The combination of Mitt Romney being an economic expert in a time of American economic crisis, a universal health care expert in a time of Obamacare crisis, and a moderate Republican who could likely steal back a large number of the independent voters that Barack Obama relied on in 2008, make him unquestionably the most formidable challenger to Barack Obama in 2012.

Generally, the vice presidential pick is more about carrying a state to anything else. But in a time of so many crucial issues facing our nation, maybe it is time to look for a vice president that can actually contribute to the people with real policy influence.

With that in mind, some of the most vulnerable aspects of a Mitt Romney candidacy are a lack of foreign policy experience at a time when the world is on the brink, and his inability to carry the vote from the conservative base. The most highly respected right-leaning conservative that has proven himself time and again as a formidable foreign policy expert that would best compliment a Mitt Romney presidency is John Bolton.

Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, John Bolton has recently been positioning himself in a way indicative of a presidential run. The truth is he could not beat Barack Obama on the top of the ticket. His foreign-policy expertise is a much-needed asset in this time of world unrest, but his lack of domestic policy record, especially concerning the economy, could not see him win. In addition to that he would be considered far too conservative to appeal to the independent voter.

Yet, combining the expertise of Mitt Romney and John Bolton on a Republican ticket to challenge Barack Obama in 2012 would be virtually unbeatable in lieu of the current issues facing our nation.

On the top of the ticket you have a man that you can count on to use a moderate approach to fix the debt crisis and the out-of-control spending. Mitt simply knows how to run a business and a businessman is what this country needs right now. In addition, Mitt has all of the qualifications as the former governor of a state to handle the intricate responsibilities of the presidency.

To cover any of Mitt Romney’s vulnerabilities on foreign-policy, national security, and appeasement to the right-leaning base, there is nobody better suited to fill the void as the vice president than John Bolton. Mr. Bolton’s ability to carry the conservative base and have the primary responsibility as vice president of implementing foreign-policy while taking an active role in advising the president makes him the perfect match for a Romney administration.

In 2012 the country will not need politicians. Americans need to elect the right people to prioritize and fix the current problems that are diminishing the United States on a domestic and a foreign stage. This means instead of pulling the handle based on a creative commercial seen on TV, Americans truly need to understand who it is they vote for and what their professional experience can do to restore the greatness of the United States.

Despite all the other options out there, the facts are simple. Based on the needs of our country, the people we need in charge must be economic experts and foreign-policy powerhouses. That administration could be no better than a Mitt Romney – John Bolton ticket for 2012.