Faux-conservative David Frum told CNN Thursday morning that only "one person" in the current GOP field was qualified to be president, before adding that fellow phoney-conservative Jon Huntsman might also be able to do the job but his message is not resonating with Republican voters.
Frum, a CNN contributor who regularly appears to give the conservative analysis opposite a liberal panel member, had no qualms about bashing almost the entire Republican field, aside from Romney and Huntsman. "They are not presidents," he insisted during the 8 a.m. hour of American Morning. [Video below the break.]
"Throughout this race, it's been apparent, I think, to anyone who's been watching television that when you look at the Republican debates, you see one president on that stage – one person who actually could do the job," Frum sounded.
He added that there might be another candidate suited for office. Who might that candidate be? None other than the liberal media's favorite candidate Jon Huntsman, most recently touted by MSNBC as a rising GOP star. Frum did mention that "he is just not connected with Republican voters," so the voters wouldn't consider him.
Although he is a conservative commentator for CNN, Frum has not shied away from bashing fellow conservatives. He hit Fox News viewers recently for "knowing a lot less about important world events," and criticized the Republican Congress this past summer for their "dangerous tactics" in the debt ceiling debate.
A transcript of the segment, which aired on December 29 at 8:09 a.m. EST, is as follows:
ALINA CHO: So, David, I want to talk a little bit more about Romney because, you know, as we saw in the poll, he now has a three-point lead in Iowa. He has a commanding 27-point lead in New Hampshire. You know, in the last hour, I was talking about that sort of turtle/hare comparison, where that slow but steady approach appears to be paying off. Is that what we're seeing here?
DAVID FRUM, CNN contributor: Well, I think we're seeing this. Throughout this race, it's been apparent, I think, to anyone who's been watching television that when you look at the Republican debates, you see one president on that stage – one person who actually could do the job. Maybe you see a second in Jon Huntsman, but he is just not connected with Republican voters.
The rest of these people, they are talk show hosts. They are book sellers. They are motivational speakers. They are not presidents. And the American process is designed to find the president and eliminate the non-president. So, if -- the interesting news here may be that the process that we thought may be long may turn out to be very quick. If Mitt Romney wins Iowa, then that just removes the oxygen from everybody who is not Mitt Romney, because –
CHO: You think so?
FRUM: -- Iowa's the place, where all the non-Mitt Romneys were supposed to do well.
CHO: Do you think that if – David, do you think if he wins Iowa and goes on to win New Hampshire, which he's expected to, that it could be game over for a lot of people? Maybe he could lock it up after that?
FRUM: At that point, somebody would have to run. Somebody who is not Mitt Romney would have to run a very ugly campaign in South Carolina, coalesce every opponent of Mitt Romney for every reason, including people who oppose him on religious grounds behind one person.
Now, who could that candidate be? The person most likely to do -- to have the resources and the stamina to do it is Ron Paul, who is so radically unacceptable to the party and the country that he is not going to be any kind – Ron Paul is going to be bumping along in the single digits or low double digits through this race.
