Trump not running for president

Another shocker (not)...

Real estate mogul Donald Trump will not be a candidate for president in 2012.

The New York businessman bounded onto the scene with explosive rhetoric, catering to the fringe "birther" movement, raising questions about President Obama's place of birth, as well as the president's record as a student. (For the record, Obama was born in Hawaii and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and served as editor of the Harvard Law Review.)

When the president released his long-form birth certificate, Trump took a measure of credit.

Trump rocketed to near the top of national polls and even polled well in a few surveys in New Hampshire. But much of the air was taken out of any potential Trump campaign, when Obama derided him as a "carnival barker," and then (along with comedian Seth Myers) skewered Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

"Donald Trump said that he was running for president as a Republican," Myers said. "That's funny, because I thought he was running as a joke."

That may be, but in the March NBC/WSJ poll, Trump was second only to Mitt Romney in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. He pulled in 17% of the vote, tied with Mike Huckabee. Romney led the field with 21%, Newt Gingrich got 11%, Sarah Palin 10%.

What is notable in all this is that the people who pulled in almost half -- 44% -- of support from Republicans in that poll won't likely be running. Huckabee said Saturday night he's out; Trump said so today; and Palin is thought to be unlikely to launch a bid.

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