There are some legitimate candidates in the Republican party, Mitt Romney is serious about his run for President, though perhaps he is not quite as serious about his core values.
There are also issue candidates, who are running in an attempt to push their agenda, even though it's clear that they have no chance of winning, RuPaul Ron Paul is a classic example of this.
You also have pathetic attempts of people to regain their 15 minutes of fame from decades ago, like Herman Cain.
You also have your share of loony tunes, who have nothing between their ears but Santorum, that frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex, like, well, Rick Santorum.
But this time around, we have a new breed of Republican candidates, those who are using their presidential runs, or the threat of a presidential run, to cash in monetarily.
I am referring to Newt "Newt, Inc." Gingrich, and Sarah "Take the Money and Run" Palin.
They are not seriously running for anything they are using a presidential bid in order to cash in on various business opportunities.
Basically, they are running because has become a part of their business plans.
In order to generate big bucks selling awards to strip clubs (Newt), or with inflated speakers' fees (Palin), at some point the market demands that they "put up or shut up", so their response is to create a simulated "put up or shut up".
Whoever thought that a candidate could make money off of running for POTUS.
It's like the corrupt theatrical producer from the Mel Brooks movie, and play, and movie, The Producers, Max Bialystock, who scams investors by creating a play that is sure to fail, so he can oversell by 1000%, and pocket the difference, because no one expects to be paid back after a fiasco.