People keep making the Eisenhower comparison, but Ike didn’t run against Truman. The precedent for a top general challenging his commander-in-chief is McClellan — and temperamentally, Petraeus strikes me as anything but a McClellan.

Still, it’s a thought. The public’s fed up with both parties and starving for competence in its leadership. You could do worse on that score than a guy of unknown party affiliation who managed to put out the fire in Iraq.

“Well, I’d like to see Gen. Petraeus warm up,” Dole said. “I don’t know anything about his politics, whether he has an interest. It’s kind of a time for another Eisenhower, in my view.”

This isn’t the first time the popular general’s name has been floated as a possible GOP savior — and it won’t be the last. Petraeus has political impulses but hasn’t revealed if they are conservative ones, and he might not even be a Republican.

The CFR’s Senor is skeptical, even though Petraeus would be an appealing candidate. “He has to be focused like a laser beam on Afghanistan,” Senor said. “If he is as successful in Afghanistan as he was in Iraq, nothing else matters, and he will instantly be considered a top-tier candidate for president.

“But in order to be successful, he has to work very closely and effectively inside this administration, and very loyally to the commander-in-chief. He’s going to work successfully with this administration, and then all of a sudden announce that he’s stepping down to run against the commander in chief under which he served? As a practical matter, that’s unlikely.”

An alternative to Petraeus identified in the same Politico piece: Um … Joe Scarborough. And if he won’t run, hey — there’s always Michele Bachmann! Exit question: Hasn’t Petraeus already answered this question rather definitively? Flashback to December 23, 2007. Skip ahead to 1:25.