On Huntsman, Hatch and other big 2012 questions

Happy Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start to, apparently, the summer monsoon season. We hope you're doing more interesting things than thinking about politics, but in case you're cooped up and bored, we thought answering a few questions that no one is really asking might provide a little entertainment.

Will 2012, like 2010, be an anti-incumbent year?

Pignanelli: "Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason." — Mark Twain. If three dynamics of 2010/2011 exist in the fall of 2012 — a sluggish economy, overzealous tea party activists, and scared grumpy voters — incumbents are in for a rough ride.

Webb: A recent Gallup poll found just 28 percent of voters nationwide thought most members of Congress deserved re-election. Overall congressional job approval is only 24 percent. So voters are restless. However, voters usually like their own members better than Congress overall. Voters won't be quite as angry next year as in 2010.

Will anyone run against Ralph Becker?

Webb: Becker's a cinch for re-election. He isn't the most exciting mayor ever, but he's perfect for the post-Rocky era. His liberal base is generally happy, and he's acceptable to moderates. If he is challenged, it will be from the left, not the right. The lack of competition shows the Democrats don't have much bench strength in Utah.

Pignanelli: This is the dumbest question of 2011. Who cares? The mayor is more popular than tofu in Salt Lake City (a high standard). No one can beat him.

Will the Jon Huntsman statement, "I am more spiritual than religious," become the 2011 catchphrase for non-church-going politicos throughout the country?

Pignanelli: Huntsman's articulate dodge of the religious question — and the seeming acceptance by the media and others — brought a collective sigh of relief from closet agnostics in political circles. Readers can expect multiple and various uses of this phrase in responses to inquiries regarding their beliefs (or none thereof).

Webb: Granted, lots of people consider themselves spiritual, but not so interested in organized religion. They find spirituality in nature and meditation. Personally, I need the hard back of a pew to keep me pointed toward God. So I guess I'm more religious than spiritual.

Does Jim Matheson announce for Congress or statewide office?