In no particular order, here are the "dwarves" that have been mentioned as potential candidates but who simply cannot contend seriously for the Republican nomination.

Mike Huckabee - Arkansas governor.  Good man ... but is America ready for a former Southern Baptist preacher with a name like Huckabee in the White House?  I think not.

Haley Barbour - Mississippi governor.  Not particularly photogenic ... has a Southern accent so thick it sounds like Gomer Pyle with a mouthful of Mississippi river gravel ... has some lobbyist baggage.

Tom Tancredo - Colorado congressman.  May cause a brief firestorm in the early primaries and force his pet issue, illegal immigration, onto the table. But cannot be considered a serious candidate.

Rick Santorum - Pennsylvania senator.  May well be ex-Senator Santorum by this time next year, as he is an underdog to win reelection. Is too controversial a figure. Nice looking, but lacks presidential gravitas.

Sam Brownback - Kansas senator.  Like Santorum, is probably too conservative and too closely tied to the Christian right to win the nomination. Not well known nationally.

Mike Pence - Indiana congressman.  A rising star ... could find quite a following from conservatives if he could get some exposure ... but is untested and lacks the resume expected of a serious presidential candidate.

Mark Sanford - South Carolina governor. A favorite of fiscal conservatives. Not well-known nationally. Could be veep material.