Rutherford B. Hayes is running for President of the United States in 2012. So is Jeff Davis, Robert Lee of Virginia, and Jonathon the Impaler Sharkey.

They are but four of the 80 people who have, so far, thrown their hats in the ring to contend for the highest elective office in the land, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Of course, it would be international news if the Rutherford B. Hayes known to history books was running, since he was the 19th President of the United States and has been dead now some 118 years.

But Rutherford Bert Hayes of Pea Ridge, Arkansas has filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC, which is all it takes, as long as you're 35 or over and have lived in the country for the last 14 years.

Robert Lee of Mount Eagle, Virginia, and Jeff Davis of Saint Helen, Minnesota - whose complete name is the historically beautiful Jeff Howard Taft Davis - have done the same.

Sharkey, whose campaign motto is Impaler for President, hails from Temple Terrace, Florida (if you're planning a vacation and can't book Transylvania).

Also, for fans of It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey of Clinton, Mississippi (not Bedford Falls) is in the race.

None of the Republicans expected to vie for the GOP nomination in 2012 has yet declared, not Palin or Gingrich, Romney or Huckabee, Jindal, Pawlenty, Bachmann or Pence - to say nothing of Lindsay Graham, Rudy Giuliani or General Petraeus -- are on the FEC's current list.

Some or all of them may be soon, as hopefuls will want to get ready in 2011 for the primaries, debates and general hullabaloo of 2012.

In the unlikelihood that none of these big names file, both Robert Lee and The Impaler are registered Republicans.

If any big Democrat is seriously going to challenge President Obama for the party nomination, he or she or they will also be surfacing in the months to come.

Currently, there are 28 Republicans, 13 Democrats and 17 Independents filed with the FEC. The other declared candidates have party affiliations of None, Other and Unknown.

It is not at all unusual to have so many candidates filing to run for president, said FEC spokesman Jason Bucelato. There were over 400 who filed to run for president in the 2008 election. Of course, only one percent got their names on a ballot.

White house Florida Florida White house