Modern televangilism

Why are there so many Republican candidates?

So here's my question. You might disagree with my ranking, but probably not by a whole lot. There just aren't very many candidates who have a serious chance at winning the nomination. So why are so many running? When guys like Dennis Kucinich or Ron Paul ran, I understood why. They just wanted a chance to present their views to a national audience. But that can't be what's motivating everyone on this list. So what is it? What is it that's somehow convinced so many obvious losers that they actually have a shot at becoming the next president of the United States?

Not that difficult to figure out. If you've got a shot at running a mass marketed "Please send me money"  business for a while that's pretty much what you do. It only lasts for a year or two but then there's the book deal and/or TV gig that comes out of it.