I am forced to conclude that Gov. Scott Walker, of the impressive resume', has been a disappointing presidential candidate. There is much to like in what Walker has accomplished in Wisconsin, breaking the backs of public employee unions and fighting off a recall election in a somewhat liberal state.
On the other hand, since declaring for the GOP presidential nomination Walker has been underwhelming, taking several different positions on immigration within one week, and failing to leave a strong impression during the first televised debate. Trump has been eating Walker's lunch.
When people set out to run for president, they need to have developed clear positions on issues in the public arena. They also need thought-out answers on issues of personal values and beliefs, and episodes in their life about which questions could arise. If developing these requires testing various answers on focus groups, that testing should have happened before announcing. It appears Walker hasn't done this, to his detriment.
Oddly, the above ukase doesn't hold true for Trump. He says whatever pops into his head and shrugs off press carping that he is inconsistent. Better political scientists than I may eventually suss out why the rules apply to everyone else, but not to the Donald.
Trump aside, it's very clear the rules do apply to Scott Walker. I wonder if he will be the 2016 version of Rick Perry in 2012, a strong governor unable to transition effectively to a national campaign?
