These days, the media loves covering the presidential aspirations of Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry (and not Ron Paul). So we're not sure why former New York governor George Pataki is thinking about running for president. As the Daily News puts it, "He's pro-choice, pro-union and pro-gay marriage, so... Pataki's plan to possibly join the red-meat pack vying for the GOP presidential nod drew puzzled looks Sunday."

The News' sources say he's totally poised to join the race, which contradicts Pataki's April declaration that he wouldn't run for president (though he did say, "never say never") but NY1 points out, "If he were to run, Pataki would face several major obstacles including launching an operation with little campaign cash and facing several opponents who have been meeting voters in Iowa and New Hampshire for months."

Republican state Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan told the News, "Pataki the first two years was great, then we went on a spending binge. The federal debt runup was rivaled only by what we did in New York under George Pataki." But, hey, Pataki has created a group called No American Debt—that sounds remorseful, right?