With resurgent Republicans growing increasingly confident that President Barack Obama may yet be a political mortal in 2012, a new name is emerging as a potential presidential contender: South Dakota Sen. John Thune.
For those in the GOP who aren’t giddy about a second Mitt Romney run and aren’t sold on the viability of Tim Pawlenty, Thune represents a mainstream conservative alternative.
Tall, handsome, not yet 50 and with the sort of sunny demeanor that winning national Republicans usually possess, the former high school hoops star looks the part.
He’s also something of a national party favorite for slaying a political giant — then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004.
