Isn't he the Governor of Alabama? He might be better than many!

He is a governor, which is an advantage, but not a particularly successful one.

Bob Riley, the Governor of Alabama, doesn't have a high enough profile to be seriously considered for President. To top it off, he's had some serious political failures during his tenure, among them his inability to pass a massive overhaul of Alabama's tax system, which is among the most regressive in the country. Despite that states chronic financial problems and poorly funded education system, the voters rejected his tax plan in a referendum by almost 40%. By national standards, Riley's plan was very conservative, his problem was strictly political. He went to the Democrats for support over the Republicans, thus causing his proposal to fall in between the chasm. He had good intentions and his plan was a good one, but this was strictly a massive political failure on his part that probably would deem inoperative for a 2008 Presidential run.