Our long national nightmare is over — The Donald is considering a presidential run:

Given that the GOP field appears to be thinner than expected, Trump may just add some well-needed gravitas to the primaries should he decide to run. The candidates who would truly excite the base, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, and perhaps Bobby Jindal, have all pretty much given Shermanesque statements with regard to 2012. Rubio hasn’t even been seated in the Senate yet, Rudy has the same problems that he had in 2008, and Palin is pretty much despised by three-fifths of the general electorate. That leaves a series of ghosts of the GOP’s past (Romney, Huckabee, Newt) and a litany of mini-me governors and senators who no one really cares about (Pawlenty, Daniels, Thune). Indeed, Obama’s saving grace in this election may be the weakness of the GOP field.

But if the GOP does in fact need a trump card (heh), it may need look no further than the Donald. Here are a few basic reasons that Donald Trump should at least be considered for the nomination.

First, Trump knows economics. In all of his statements on the economy thus far, Trump has made it clear that he understands that it’s the fundamentals of the economy that are in trouble, and doesn’t simply spout Hannity-esque nonsense about marginal income tax rates being the reason for all of our woes. The problem with the economy isn’t that we need another across-the-board tax cut to use as a wedge issue, but that America’s economic position in the world has been severely weakened due to a variety of factors, including debt, giving away the store to China, and the fact that we are now part of a global economy where a billion hungry Asians are competing with the American workforce. In order for serious economic growth to take place here at home, America is going to have to become the world’s innovator again. Instead of electing a president whose understanding of economics is completely informed by 25-year old aides from inside-the-Beltway-cocoon think tanks, the elevation of a captain of industry to the top job may be what’s needed to prevent the continued decline of the West.

Secondly, and relatedly, Trump would be able to figure out how to get our fiscal house in order, and would probably be trusted to do so given his business creds and his status as a solutions-oriented fellow instead of an ideologue. It seems counterintuitive, but Americans would probably be more willing to let folks from the board room take a crack at Social Security and Medicare than folks from, say, the Heritage Foundation. That’s because successful businesspersons have proven that they can manage other people’s money, that they can increase the rate of return, and their goal is a successful outcome for the programs, not to act as a Trojan Horse that stealthily dismantles the programs for ideological reasons.

Third, as he pointed out in the clip, Trump understands that America must move from a position of overall weakness in the world to a position of overall strength. And as any fan of “The Apprentice” can verify, if there’s anyone who possesses the innate ability to project an aura of confidence, self-assuredness, and raw power, it’s the Donald. This skill is essential to any world leader, who will be charged with the task of forming relationships with other heads of state, and who will need to be able to persuade presidents, princes, and potentates to see things the way America sees them. Reagan had this skill. So did Clinton. And so did Dubya. Obama clearly does not. As for Trump, the power to persuade is part of his very core.

As for social issues, Trump doesn’t have much of a history with these issues and his answer in the clip seems to suggest that he might actually be pro-life, or supportive of conservative judges, or both. No one is saying that Trump is going to come out as a closet evangelical over the next two years. Nor should he, as such a move would be craven and transparent and destroy The Donald’s sense of authenticity. But I would hope that the GOP nomination is still open to those of all faiths, or of no faith at all, and is not the property of one specific branch of one specific religion. Further, Trump is quite clearly a sophisticated, urbane fellow who is a bit of a wolf and who isn’t likely to become either a plumber or a puritan anytime soon. I’m sure there will be some GOP voters who will only cast ballots for those who chop brush and spend Sundays behind the pews, but I’m not sure that the majority of Republicans will have any such requirement of their prospective nominee. Cultural cues are less important to Republicans than they’ve been in a generation, as economic and size-of-government issues dominate, and as Chris Christie, another city boy, crushes the competition in straw polls of right-wing activists. If there were ever a year that a Southern strut wasn’t going to matter, it would be in 2012.

Finally, there’s no question that Trump would be able to out-debate, out-shine, and out-class Obama during a general election campaign. And he would play well in Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, not to mention New Hampshire. Plus, Trump could run a national campaign, not a regional one, pitting his vision of a strong, robust America against Obama’s managed decline of America. All of that makes Trump at least worth a look.