Oh-eight (R): Turning off moderates?
Posted: Monday, November 19, 2007 9:11 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Republicans, Ads
Could Giuliani being moving to far to the right? This Des Moines Register piece indicates that some Iowa GOP moderates seem to be turned off a bit by the wooing of conservatives.
GIULIANI: Clinton isn’t the only New Yorker who is stepping things up in Iowa. The New York Times’ Nagourney
notes the Giuliani campaign has stepped up his radio ads, phone calls
and mailings to the state in an effort, apparently, to be competitive.
"The moves have come at a time of growing uncertainty in the Iowa
Republican contest, with Mr. Huckabee and former Senator Fred D.
Thompson of Tennessee stepping up their spending and organizing. And
there are growing signs that it will be largely fought over illegal
immigration… The developments pose a particular threat to Mr. Romney,
who has spent more time and money here than any of the other Republican
candidates. A loss or a shaky win here could weaken him going into New
Hampshire; his strategy is based on winning both states."
Giuliani is going up with a new TV in New
Hampshire (and Boston). “I believe I’ve had the most leadership
experience of anyone that’s running,” Rudy says in the ad. “It’s not
just holding executive positions, like Mayor of New York, or United
States Attorney, or 3rd ranking official in the Reagan Justice
Department. It’s having held those positions in time of crisis. I’ve
been tested in a way in which the American people can look to me.
They’re not going to find perfection, but they’re going to find
somebody who has dealt with crisis almost on a regular basis and has
had results. And in many cases, exceptional results. Results people
thought weren’t possible.”
If NASCAR can go to Miami (not exactly a Southern enclave) then Giuliani can become a NASCAR fan, right? The Washington Post: "In some ways, Giuliani and NASCAR fans seem a natural match. Of 10 people randomly interviewed in and around Section 204, there were two nearly unanimous political opinions: Giuliani seems like a strong leader, particularly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that anybody was better than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D), another New York figure, although not by any means a native."
The New York Times’ Frank Rich writes on the Judith Regan mess and calls her Giuliani's "Linda Tripp." "Ms. Regan’s knowledge of Mr. Giuliani isn’t limited to whatever she learned from Mr. Kerik. She used to work for another longtime Giuliani pal, Roger Ailes, the media consultant for the first Giuliani campaign in 1989 and the impresario who created Fox News for Mr. Murdoch in 1996. A full-service mayor to his cronies, Mr. Giuliani lobbied hard to get the Fox News Channel on the city’s cable boxes and presided over Mr. Ailes’s wedding. Enter Ms. Regan, who was given her own program on Fox’s early lineup. Mr. Ailes came up with its rather inspired first title, “That Regan Woman.”
How about this headline in the Giuliani’s hometown paper: “Rudy Giuliani jets to campaign stops using casino kingpin's plane.” “Rudy Giuliani is jetting around the country wooing Bible-thumping conservatives, but his plane is often provided by a king of Sin City. The Republican presidential hopeful anted up more than $122,000 last summer alone for jets traceable to casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands empire has made him the third-richest American,” the New York Daily News reports.
Over the weekend, Giuliani said, per the Daily News: "I cannot figure out where some imperative exists for taking the words 'Under God' out of the Pledge of Allegiance or to ban the mention of the 10 amendments in a public square," he said. As the crowd began to clap, Giuliani quickly amended himself: "The Ten Commandments."
HUCKABEE: Huckabee attempted to contrast himself on abortion with Thompson, specifically on the idea that the issue should be decided by the states. “‘It's the logic of the Civil War,’ Huckabee said Sunday, comparing abortion rights to slavery. ‘If morality is the point here, and if it's right or wrong, not just a political question, then you can't have 50 different versions of what's right and what's wrong.’”
“‘For those of us for whom this is a moral question, you can't simply have 50 different versions of what's right,’ he said in an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday.’”
MCCAIN: Is McCain skipping Iowa? The Sunday Washington Post hinted that he is. "The candidate has brought the bulk of his limited resources to bear here [in New Hampshire]. Even during the campaign's darkest days this summer, not one of his public supporters switched sides here, and his visits to the state far outnumber those to others hosting early contests."
Yet NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann reports that McCain's Iowa staff insists that the senator's campaign in Iowa is alive, kicking, and looking to grow. In fact, the campaign says it is planning on a substantial number of hires in the coming weeks (there are currently 12 paid staffers). "Our fundamental strategy hasn't changed," says state director Jon Seaton. "We will be very competitive in Iowa."
"In a speech here that his campaign described as the kind of pointed but respectful approach he will take for the rest of the campaign, Mr. McCain sought to tap into the anti-Clinton sentiment seen to be driving many Republican primary voters, particularly in New Hampshire… McCain has struggled to balance his stated desire for a respectful contest with his campaign’s recognition that he has a lot of ground to cover to persuade Republicans that he would stand the best chance against Mrs. Clinton. The speech reflected that tension, citing an array of policy differences but using impersonal language.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr. (R) will endorse McCain today, NBC’s Bethany Thomas reports.
Thomas also notes that about 200 people showed up at McCain’s town hall meeting Saturday night at Dartmouth College, where he talked about torture. “Let me explain first of all what water boarding is: you tilt someone down- with their head down and you stuff a rag over their face and you continuously pour water over them and it gives one the absolute sensation of drowning… My friends, it is a very interesting contrast between those of us who served in the military and people like Colin Powell and other senior military officers who are absolutely opposed -- absolutely opposed to the use of torture and those who have never served who believe it is a fine thing to do -- who have been watching Jack Bauer on “24” too much… We believe in good, and we don’t believe -- we shouldn’t believe that we should torture prisoners.”
PAUL: The Texas congressman gets favorable front-page treatment in the Columbia State with the headline, “Texan Paul taking the honest approach.” “He’s become an Internet sensation and, as the only Republican contender who favors an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, a darling of the televised presidential debates. Paul, 72, is also the runaway favorite for re-election to Congress in his district, where the old ‘LBJ law’ allows him to run for president and for Congress simultaneously.”
ROMNEY: The New York Daily News looks at Romney vs. Rudy. “The former Massachusetts governor is methodical, relentlessly optimistic and almost preternaturally calm. It's hard to imagine the perfectly coiffed Romney losing his cool, much less breaking script to answer a cell phone call from his wife.” More: “With less than seven weeks until Republican voters and caucus-goers start weighing in, Romney and Giuliani are trying to tar each other with the liberal label to pursue conservatives who are key to the GOP nomination.”
Per NBC/NJ’s Erin McPike, Romney unveils a new TV ad today that focuses on family and includes a few clips of home videos that showcase his own tight-knit family. The spot will start airing today in Iowa (where Romney is spending the two days immediately before Thanksgiving) and New Hampshire (where he’s spending the weekend following the holiday).
Speaking with reporters Saturday in Las Vegas, Romney again expressed his disappointment with the push-polling allegations that in New Hampshire, calling them "Un-American,” NBC’s John Boxley reports. Romney was asked about a report that the company doing the push-polling calls are actually supporters to Romney's campaign and that these calls are in some way a ploy to drum up sympathy for Romney... Romney was clearly not happy with the question, and shot back, "It’s not likely that a company that supports my campaign would also be slandering it.”
THOMPSON: On Friday, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell spoke with Jeri Thompson in her first network TV interview. Some excerpts… On the attention she has received with her husband running for president: “For me it was a great shock to find that what I did at the grocery store or anything in small, little detail was of interest to anybody. So, for me, that was a little bit surprising.”
On the age difference between her and Fred: “We don't think about it. It doesn't occur to us in terms of, oh, there's 24 years of difference. It just occurs to us how blessed we are, and how happy we are to be together.”
On her role as first lady, if Fred wins the presidency: “My pace would be different than some others... And there's no equivocating this. My priority would always be my two small children. And it would be different. But it doesn't mean I wouldn't have time to advocate… I think the number one rule of the First Lady is to make sure that the president is taken care of. And that's something that I think I'm probably pretty good at.”
On whether she caused friction early on in the campaign: “I don't know about friction. Frankly, you know, when he was trying to get out of those two contracts, I was the only early campaign... And he asked me to help him, and I helped him. And I don't think that's any different than most successful marriages. You do what you know is best for them, and what they ask you to do until you've got enough people or-- or other folks to help out.”
The Washington Times continues to look into how Thompson won the National Right to Life endorsement and quotes a board member saying the biggest reason was electability. "The main reason for the endorsement of Thompson was simply electability and who can really beat Hillary Clinton, period," said Gregg R. Trude of the Montana Right to Life Committee. "The main thought was that Thompson can win the South and the other Republicans can't."
