Of course, some wackos might carp about his birth certificate

Egypt has a problem. The GOP has a problem. Jon Chait solves both problems at a stroke:

Hosni Mubarak is hated in Egypt, but reluctant to give up power. Meanwhile, the Republican Party is desperate for a credible presidential candidate. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yes: Mubarak should cut a deal to step down as president of Egypt, take exile in the United States where he'll be granted citizenship, and immediately jump into the Republican primary field.

The more I think about this, the more sense it makes. The GOP field is torn between candidates with executive experience but no foreign policy experience (i.e., governors like Mitt Romney or Mitch Daniels) and candidates with foreign policy experience but no executive experience. Mubarak has both!

You want a candidate who's tough on Islamists? The other Republicans can talk all they want about doubling Gitmo, but only Mubarak has imprisoned and tortured Islamists. You can't possibly get to the right of him on this issue. And he's extremely pro-Israel.

Plus his record on taxes, the liberal media, and antipathy to Obama are all very strong indeed.

... Aaaaaaand he's available.