Meeting in D.C., GOP governors look to 2012 race GOP governors look to 2012 presidential race

On one side were Southern governors — including Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. All three are outspoken critics of Obama’s $787 billion plan to jolt the economy through investment in education, health care and transportation and have said they are likely to reject some of the stimulus funding.

Jindal and Sanford are considered likely presidential candidates in 2012, but have demurred when asked about their future endeavors.

On the other side were the coastal moderates — including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — who have embraced Obama’s stimulus plan as an important, if imperfect, means of bringing their states out of recession.

In the middle is another likely 2012 contender, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has criticized the stimulus bill but nonetheless plans to accept the money for his state.

Not present at the governor’s meeting was Alaska’s Sarah Palin, arguably the GOP’s biggest star. John McCain’s running mate is viewed as a top prospect for 2012 — but that doesn’t mean other governors are standing by.

Sanford, 48, the stimulus bill’s most ardent opponent among governors, acknowledged Sunday that there “may not be much of a national appetite right now” for his strict anti-spending philosophy.

He said it was all part of his commitment to bedrock conservative values, which he believes are the key to a Republican resurgence. “For Republicans, it’s the larger conservative theme of walking the walk on taxes and spending.”

Jindal, at 37 one of the nation’s youngest governors, echoed Sanford’s view that the GOP failed by straying from core principles.

“Our Republican Party got fired with cause these last two election cycles. We became the party that defended spending, corruption that we never should’ve tolerated, and we stopped offering relevant solutions to the problems that Americans care about,” Jindal told NBC’s Meet the Press.

Crist, 52, who campaigned with Obama in Florida to pass the stimulus, hinted that Republicans might be making a mistake by defining themselves in opposition to the plan.

“In the Florida way, we work together in a bipartisan fashion to do what’s right for the people,” Crist said on Meet the Press.

While Pawlenty, 48, refused to say whether he’d run in 2012, he also expressed frustration with the GOP for failing to appeal to a broader cross-section of voters. “Whoever runs needs to bring a fresher voice and face to the party.”