Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-10975360-20140613150705/@comment-32656-20140617121926

Nah - Eisenhower had never ruled it out. His protests prior to running were that he felt a serving general should not run for public office, and that he could not run as a Dem, since he disagreed with them. Did not have to be persuaded at all, in the end.

Popular means little if they realize that they disagree with his views. Bet he would lose a lot of support when that got out.

Not a question of running mate, really, but a question of winning primaries - which would be hard.

Running mate would have to be a social conservative in a big way - Powell held and holds that Repub line on economics, mostly. And that risks offending moderates.

Really though, a Powell nomination would be like asking for a third-party candidacy - from someone on the "right." That screws the Repubs.