Reply #1: It's politically advantageous to be the first one out of the starting gates

[Exilednight]

They only make or break issue there is right now is the economy. If you're the first Republican to jump out of the box, the first question you will be asked at this very moment is what they think about Wisconsin. Give the wrong answer and you just lost every union vote their is to have.

The second question will be what is their plan for the middle-east with all the current uprisings. I would guess that no major Republican candidate has put any real thought about how to separate themselves from the Bush Doctrine. The best solution that I have seen comes from Nicholas Kristof, but no Republican is going to embrace the ideas of a NY Times columnist.

The only real wedge they have left is immigration reform, but in these economic times no one cares about immigration.

On top of that, if you're the first one to announce you set the tone and allow everyone else to use you as a foil.