Rove: GOP Prez Candidates Should Jump Out of Frying Pan

Potential Republican candidates for president will need to quit dilly-dallying on announcing whether they’re in the race, Karl Rove insists. Rove, the architect of President George W. Bush’s victories said, “I think December is too late” to jump in, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who announced on Monday that he’s forming a presidential exploratory committee, has improved as a candidate with a “much sharper, crisper message, Rove said, adding,” Even so, it’s too soon to know who will be in the race.”

Karl Rove thinks December would be too late to enter the GOP race. (Getty Images Photo)

The nature of the early contests and the long race puts pressure on candidates to declare early, said Rove, who listed four keys to winning:

• Unifying social conservatives, populists, fiscal conservatives, and an ability to reach beyond the base
• The ability to create a narrative as to why to pick a particular candidate and not Obama
• Minimizing the candidate’s weaknesses while broadening the strengths
• And proving to voters that a candidate has what it takes.