NYT Columnist: We Really Need Butch

Now that Sarah Palin has bowed out of the presidential race and the country faces the dreadful prospect of watching Barack Obama run against Mitt Romney for the next 13 months, New York Times columnist Gail Collins (pictured in New York Times photo) is renewing her call for Idaho Gov. Butch Otter to run. Opines Collins: “I have been promoting him as a possible presidential contender, mainly because I like saying “Idaho Gov. Butch Otter.” But there’s much, much more there to recommend him. For one thing, I’m pretty sure he’d be the first president who was on the board of directors of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. One of Otter’s big initiatives this year was declaring the gray wolf an “emergency disaster” so people could shoot them. This could open up a useful debate on the hunting issue, which in presidential politics usually involves candidates bragging about their body count. But we could also revisit Rick Perry’s story about how he shot a coyote with his “Ruger .380 with laser sights” while jogging, and pursue a question that has been bothering all of us: Where was he carrying it?” More here.

Question: Can you think of another governor who would add color to the GOP presidential primary race?