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

Giuliani: He's "America's mayor" - perhaps; but far from New York's preferred mayor

I'm proud of his stance--and proud a GOP standing for the big office had it.

It certainly isn't going to be Romney, who isn't polling well.

I've heard rumors of a Hagel-Bloomberg ticket. If that happens, you might as well say hello to a Democratic president, b/c it would split your party right down the middle.

Only saving grace....? Same on yours.....LOL

Ought to be interesting, no doubt. I bet Nimh is running around with a half-woody almost every day now.

I wouldnt count Romney out. I think Giuliani is unlikely to win the primaries when the pro-life militants rally against him, but I dont see McCain winning.. he's by now managed to alienate both ends of his party. Romney has been mostly under the radar so far, but he's been creeping up in the polls gradually but steadily. Plus he's got that creepy combination of smooth exterior and inane ignorance that Republicans go for.

(May 14, 2007 -- 10:15 AM EST // link)

My views don't matter much about Republican presidential candidates. But I have a question I'd like to hear people's views on. When I hear Mitt Romney talk he sounds like a complete phony. Analyzing his record I think there's a very strong case that he's a serial flipflopper and a real opportunist. But that's not what I'm talking about. His manner and voice and what he says ... everything sounds extraordinarily canned and contrived. And in a class in that respect way beyond anything John McCain or Rudy Giuliani say. Am I alone in this?

Cycloptichorn wrote:

I've heard rumors of a Hagel-Bloomberg ticket. If that happens, you might as well say hello to a Democratic president, b/c it would split your party right down the middle.

Unh-uh. A Bloomberg candidacy would spell trouble primarily for the Democrats. He's only a Republican in name, and the little polling that was done on a possible Presidential run, I seem to remember, showed him attracting Democrats much more than Republicans.

A few months ago, I posted about the noticeable change in the political language being used.

Conservative vs Republican.

It's getting more evident with every NewsMax email I get.

Talking about Giuliani - this on a note of levity:

On YouTube: Animated Ferrets vs Rudy Giuliani

McCain has, I think, more than a dozen dogs.

National conservative groups gave Thompson high marks during his Senate career, giving him better credentials in Republican primaries than McCain or Giuliani. Business groups gave him 90 to 100 point ratings, the Christian Coalition gave him a 92, the American Conservative Union gave him an 85. The National Taxpayers Union gave him an A rating. The NRA, which has problems with Giuliani, McCain and Romney, has consistently supported Thompson.

Thompson's only black marks with conservatives have been support for McCain's campaign reform bill and his refusal to sign on to the Chamber of Commerce's campaign for "tort reform." Thompson is an attorney and he refuses to support efforts to limit the ability of poor people to seek legal remedies through class action lawsuits and contingency fee lawyers. But "tort reform" is more of an issue for big business and the Wall Street Journal editorial page than movement conservatives.

Fred Thompson's campaign in Tennessee demonstrated that he does not consider conventional campaigning as a strait-jacket from which he cannot escape. If he chooses to run for president he will do it on his own terms. It is a risky strategy. If he fails he can expect the political establishment to pillory him for his deviation from orthodoxy. The "Fred is lazy" tag will come back. He may lose the nomination. But nine out of 10 of the current GOP candidates, running conventional campaigns, will lose as well.

The problem with our politics is that the people who can get elected president are the people we wouldn't want as president. If there is anybody who can upset the status quo, create a new dynamic and overcome the process it would be Fred Dalton Thompson.