Oh-eight (R): McCain's own surge?
Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2007 9:12 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Republicans
The Politico's Martin takes a look the GOP candidates' campaign teams in Florida.
GINGRICH: Just when you thought the field was set, up pops Newt Gingrich. He tells Mr. "Granite Status" himself, the Union Leader's John DiStaso, that he'll give the GOP field until the end of October to impress him and then he'll ponder jumping in.
Also, don't miss this quote from former Iowa GOP chair Steve Grubbs, who says he believes Gingrich is going to get in. Does he know something? Gingrich's fingers doing the dialing to unattached campaign staffers like Grubbs?
GIULIANI: NBC's Chuck Todd makes a case that Giuliani's road to the GOP nomination may have fewer potholes than Clinton's. Giuliani's biggest asset: He's set himself up to survive early losses in Iowa and New Hampshire better than Clinton -- thanks mostly to the safety nets of Florida and Michigan. It's a luxury Clinton doesn't have since she signed the four-state pledge.
The Los Angeles Times examines Giuliani's record on education as New York mayor. "New York City schools went through eight years of political chaos during Giuliani's terms, which ended in 2002. His bare-knuckle tactics contributed to the departure of three chancellors, according to interviews with former school administrators, Board of Education members, teachers, parents, union officials and outside experts.”
More: “He left behind an expired union contract, an army of angry teachers and a school system that by his own admission was still delivering inferior educations to hundreds of thousands of students. How Giuliani handled education provides a window into his potential political skills as a U.S. president, especially in terms of the way he managed people and his refusal to compromise on issues big and small."
The Washington Times notes that Giuliani's views on immigration reform put him at odds with one of his chief surrogates, New York Rep. Peter King.
HUCKABEE: The former governor made the rounds yesterday in Orange County, trying to woo members of its always-influential Lincoln GOP club.
MCCAIN: Per NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann, who was with McCain yesterday in Iowa: Wrapping up the Iowa launch to the new bus tour yesterday, McCain visited a Des Moines VFW hall and a Waterloo American Legion chapter to push his support of the Iraq war. He is hitting the road with a singular message: "Let us win." "I believe that we should not choose to lose in Iraq," McCain said in Des Moines, prompting applause and shouts of "Amen" from the audience of about a hundred mostly elderly veterans. "We've got a new general and a new strategy in Iraq, and it's working," he told a larger crowd in Waterloo.
The senator, Dann reports, was also rewarded with applause for his fierce defense of Gen. David Petraeus in the wake of anti-war group MoveOn.org's full-page attack ad in the New York Times earlier this week. At both Iowa events yesterday, he held up an oversized poster of MoveOn's "General Betray Us" graphic, slamming it as "one of the worst things I've seen in my life." He also had tough words for opponent Hillary Clinton, who -- like all of her Democratic colleagues -- has stayed mum about the ad.
But one of yesterday's warmest audiences responses was not for McCain, but for one of the veterans who rode along with the senator today to speak at his event in Waterloo. Iraq veteran CJ Robison, who walks with a cane after being injured in an IED attack, offered a passionate plea for attention to veterans' issues. "I really didn't care that much about politics ‘til today, when I was on the bus with that guy [McCain], who was talking about stuff I pay attention to," she said. "We're asking you to take care of us when we come home." As she limped back to her place on the stage, the hall was on its feet -- the only standing ovation of the day.
The New York Times on McCain’s Iowa stop: “In a trip here just last month, Mr. McCain was asked by local reporters at nearly every stop of the way if he was dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. No one asked if he was dropping out this week. And the McCain campaign, buoyed by good reviews Mr. McCain received last week at a debate in New Hampshire and by the prospect of his taking on a high-profile role in the Senate debate over Iraq, is very much hoping that it is beginning a comeback.”
But WHO-TV’s Dave Price was not as impressed. "It's a good thing it wasn't hot outside. John McCain's ‘No surrender’ bus pulled in at 1:21pm by my watch. His event at the AmVets 2 Post in Des Moines was supposed to start at noon. McCain blamed the bus driver's wrong turns for the delay. In fact, I counted at least four apologies from him by the end of his appearance. I don't recall rival, Rudy Giuliani, ever saying he was sorry for making people wait at least an hour for what I think was his first visit to Des Moines as an official candidate for prez… McCain's money problems have been well documented over this campaign. We stumbled upon some help for him. A Vietnam War veteran, Lee Booton of Ankeny, manned the barbecue outside AmVets Post 2. Lee told me the vets got together to donate their time and 260 pounds of chicken, 5 gallons of cole slaw, 8 gallons of potato salad and 4 gallons of beans. He said they did it all for less than $200 and fed nearly 250 people."
ROMNEY: Romney said Obama “disqualified” himself from being considered a serious presidential candidate by calling for a complete troop withdrawal. He also called the attack Web site on Fred Thompson, run by an associate of one of his advisers, “juvenile.” http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/09/romney_riffs_on.html
THOMPSON: Per NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy, Thompson today brings his presidential campaign to the Sunshine State, on his first trip through Florida as an official candidate. He begins with a campaign stop in Jacksonville then travels south to The Villages, before finishing up the day in Celebration. The native southerner hopes to parlay the warm response he received in South Carolina into an even warmer response in Florida, as he tests out his campaign strategy of focusing on success in the southern primaries.
Three big name columnists weigh in on Thompson today, and none are impressed. George Will was the toughest: "Fred Thompson's plunge into the presidential pool -- more belly-flop than swan dive -- was the strangest product launch since that of New Coke in 1985. Then, the question was: Is this product necessary? A similar question stumped Thompson the day he plunged."
(Of course, remember that Will introduced Giuliani at the CPAC conference.)
Bob Novak: "Thompson's late start in itself is not a fatal flaw. Still, it had been conceded in party circles that when he finally became a candidate, his beginning better be memorable. It was not. While Thompson voiced obligatory conservative slogans in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, he was not the white knight that worried Republican loyalists desperately desire. His debut might have been more blood-stirring had his gatekeepers not turned away talented helpers."
The New York Times’ Gail Collins: "He’s here. He’s tanned. He’s ready. He looks like he needs a nap. When it comes to overhyped underperformers, Fred Thompson’s entry into the presidential race was right up there with Britney Spears at the MTV awards."
