This oughta get tongues wagging in some circles on the right.

General David Petraeus, Commander of CENTCOM, appears about ready to dip his toe in the New Hampshire presidential waters this month.

Marc Ambinder reports:

He's speaking at St. Anselm's College, the site of many historic political moments -- Ronald Reagan paid for his microphone there. No one runs for president without speaking at St. A's New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

I presume but don't know that Petraeus will run as Republican. Maybe he'd run as an independent. How does Petraeus fit in with the Tea Partiers, the Libertarians, the Social Conservatives? He certainly upstages Mitt "No Apology" Romney by sheer force of conviction. He's not a terribly good political speaker, though, even though he gets the politics of large institutions quite small. Also, he's small in stature. Do not be mislead into believing that a candidate's height -- even a general's height -- doesn't matter. Wes Clark can tell a few stories about that.

When Petraeus sets food in Cedar Rapids...now that'll be something to watch.

First, Petraeus lives in New Hampshire - is registered to vote there. So perhaps his sojourn to St. Anselm's is not touched with the same significance that would attach to a visit by Sarah Palin or some other undeclared candidate.

Nonetheless, there has been a decent amount of buzz about Petraeus and 2012 and it has to be coming from somewhere. I question whether he really wants to sully his hands with politics, however. His reputation is intact, his place in history assured. Why would he want to risk that with what appears to be a vanity run for the White House (or Veep spot)? America would have to be facing a dire foreign crisis before voters would turn to a general. Otherwise, his is the longest of long shots.