A first(?) thread on 2008: McCain,Giuliani & the Republicans

I don't know about dangerous, but even the pollsters have been wildly wrong, and you know less than they. The opinions of people are in a state of flux, so what was an issue yesterday may not hold. For example, I think I heard Romney did not get beat with the evangelical vote in Michigan, and he is not that out of it in some southern states in some polls. If the economy gains center stage, this could work in his favor. All of these things are in a state of flux. [..]

An Open Letter to Editorial Page Editors
Re: Your coming endorsement of John McCain

Matt Welch | January 15, 2008

Dear former colleagues,

Look, I'm not here to talk you out of endorsing John McCain. Partly because I'm not in the habit of inflicting my crazy electoral preferences on other people, but mostly because I know you're going to endorse McCain regardless of what anyone else says. (And not merely "endorse" him, either: You'll compare his "firm principles" to "the gyroscopes that keep ships and planes on course," you'll unleash an additional "anti-endorsement" upon his one-state-over rival, and you'll keep endorsing away all season.)

No, I bring you all here on this Michigan primary day to make one last plea on behalf of the dwindling number of us who read or care about newspaper editorials. Before passing on your McEnthusiasms to the Copy Desk, please remember your canonical journalistic responsibility not to make **** up or pass along easily debunkable falsehoods. Particularly when the subject of your affection has provided copious evidence to the contrary of your claims.

Dont mean to get in too much of a habit of agreeing with Okie :wink:, but those are all good points.

Quote of the Day
"If McCain gets the nomination, I don't know what I'll do. I might have to sit this one out." -- Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, under indictment in Texas, on the role he might not play in 2008.

Quote:

Quote of the Day
"If McCain gets the nomination, I don't know what I'll do. I might have to sit this one out." -- Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, under indictment in Texas, on the role he might not play in 2008.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/?last_story=/politics/war_room/2008/01/18/quote/

Do we think that maybe Gingrich is now banging his head against the wall?

blatham wrote:

Quote:

Quote of the Day
"If McCain gets the nomination, I don't know what I'll do. I might have to sit this one out." -- Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, under indictment in Texas, on the role he might not play in 2008.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/?last_story=/politics/war_room/2008/01/18/quote/

Do we think that maybe Gingrich is now banging his head against the wall?

Well, If he should succeed and then win the presidency, would you bang your head against the wall??

Dys,

referring to your signature line --- did Advocate actually write that??

For weeks, we've marveled at the GOP field's stubborn refusal to winnow itself. With John McCain's victory tonight, we've finally achieved that belated winnowing.

In one quick burst, McCain has effectively knocked Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, and Rudy Giuliani from the race: Huckabee because it's not clear where he wins if he can't do it in as demographically favorable a state as South Carolina. (Fifty-nine percent of voters today were evangelicals; Huckabee only won them by a 40-27 margin over McCain.) Rudy because it's hard to see why anyone would perfer him to McCain going forward; both appeal to moderate, security-minded Republicans and McCain is the only one who hasn't been a disaster of late. And Thompson's finished--as if it needed to be said--because even he'd conceded this was his last chance to reverse a debilitating six-month slide.

(One interesting sidenote: Huckabee's under-performance among evangelicals probably had something to do with the 15 percent of them Thompson picked off. I have a feeling that won't be Fred's last gift to McCain in this race...)

This is clearly a McCain-Romney race going forward.