In less than two years, the next US president will be elected and it is not early for any news although at this point, watching the numbers in polls is pretty much as unpredictable as stock market prices these days. You will never know who is really going to end up the winner in the end. But what you can know at this point is who the strong contender is and whose campaign needs a lot of work from now till next years presidential election. Let us start with the strong contenders from the GOP. A recent poll by CNN shows that Republicans are equally divided in supporting Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee. This poll is a big upset for presidential hopeful, Sarah Palin. For years she has been very vocal about many issues and went for the sound bite strategy in preparation for the 2012 election. But it seems that her strategy only benefited makers of Palin key chains and t-shirts as she is not even considered a strong candidate for the GOP. Trumps candidacy came as quite a surprise as nobody would have thought of him considering to run at all being a business mogul, reality show host and a fixture in tabloids. Being a businessman, he can speak clearly about the national debt and the trade deficit in everyday words that people understand. As a political candidate, his choice of words is too pessimistic. In a Fox News interview, he says the country is in serious trouble and that it no longer is respected. This may not sit well with voters as in the past 8 elections, voters favorably respond to optimistic candidates with a message of hope and promise. Huckabee is polling well against Trump so far but has not expressed his interest to file for candidacy. He has delayed his decision until summer. Although there is a delay and he may just enter the race a little late, it is a delay he can afford with his reputation as he is already known nationally from his previous campaign. The delay may take away some funding opportunities for his campaign. Another strong contender for the GOP is Mitt Romney. He is the top choice for the Republicans in a poll done by NBC. Romney is seen as another candidate with a good understanding of business but with political experience and none of the glam. Of course Obama is running again. So far in the projections, the Democrats still have lead against the Republicans in the Electoral College. Whoever the Republicans will pit against Obama has to have a message that is strong enough to contend with Obama. The last candidate that almost needs no mention is Ron Paul as he has run for president multiple times in the past. He is likely to run again in the 2012 election.