Oh-eight (R): Enter the 'Nature Boy'
Posted: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 9:14 AM by Mark MurrayRepublicans
The New York Times’ Zeleny
on where the GOP candidates will be on Thanksgiving Day: “McCain … will
travel to Iraq, his seventh trip since the war began… Huckabee … is
scheduled to spend the day with his family in Little Rock, and former
Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts will be at home with his family in
Belmont, Mass. Rudolph W. Giuliani will return to New York, where he
and his wife, Judith, will hold a breakfast for the families of
emergency workers who died on Sept. 11.”
The Los Angeles Times
looks at the health-care proposals of the leading GOP candidates. "If
the arguments against the Democratic presidential candidates'
healthcare plans include higher taxes and greater government
involvement, then the Achilles' heel of the GOP plans is their
dependence on the private market, which often rejects applicants with
health problems."
GIULIANI : Newsday
notes that Giuliani's 9/11 resume took two hits yesterday. The first
was when 9/11 Commission co-chair Tom Kean endorsed McCain. The second
was the press conference 9/11 families held in New Hampshire. "The
firefighters and families held a town hall meeting at Dartmouth
University in New Hampshire, where they accused the former mayor of
failing to prepare for the attacks and bungling the response."
The Concord Monitor adds, "They said they are frustrated that outside New York City, Giuliani is best known for his actions in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. And although they believe Giuliani made grave errors leading up to Sept. 11, 2001, it is his use of the attacks to bolster his national security credentials that made them want to "set the record straight."
The New York Daily News’ take on Kean backing McCain: “Kean stiffs Rudy to back McCain.”
Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar (R) is expected to endorse Giuliani.
Yesterday, Giuliani was in Texas, where he pushed his plan for a virtual fence. “Giuliani added that while a physical fence is needed in some places, most of the border should be policed with high-tech monitoring. He toured the border Monday along the southernmost tip of Texas with state and local officials. ‘And frankly, the virtual fence is more valuable because it alerts you to people approaching the border, it alerts you to people coming over the border,’ Giuliani said, the Rio Grande in the background.”go-to Democrat in the Senate for a President Giuliani? Apparently Chuck Schumer. Newsday notes the tight relationship the two have enjoyed over the years. "They do have basic differences personally and politically: Schumer is a traditional Democrat and Giuliani a free-market Republican. But they also have similar hawkish views on crime, terrorism and protecting Israel, and lenient views on abortion, gay rights and gun control -- positions out of step with the base and ideologues of their parties."
HUCKABEE : First Chuck Norris. Now it’s Ric Flair , the wrestler colloquially known as “The Nature Boy.” Flair will host Huckabee at a tailgate before the USC-Clemson game at Williams Brice Stadium on Saturday.
National Review's Jonah Goldberg compares the longshot bids of Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee and concludes, "I would still find him less scary than Mike Huckabee… What's troubling about The Man From Hope 2.0 is what he represents. Huckabee represents compassionate conservatism on steroids. A devout social conservative on issues such as abortion, school prayer, homosexuality and evolution, Huckabee is a populist on economics, a fad-follower on the environment and an all-around do-gooder who believes that the biblical obligation to do ‘good works’ extends to using government -- and your tax dollars -- to bring us closer to the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.”
MCCAIN : So how does a poll like this from Arizona fit into the McCain comeback stories that many in the media want to write? Giuliani edged ahead of McCain in a poll of Arizona Republicans . In a word, ouch.
The New York Times examines why McCain isn’t faring as well in Iowa as he does in New Hampshire. “Mr. McCain blames his problems in Iowa on illegal immigration. ‘It wasn’t our financial problems that caused our drop in the polls,’ he said… ‘It was immigration.’ … But the truth is, Mr. McCain had problems in this state well before the immigration fight began. In 2000, the last time he ran for the presidency, he skipped the caucuses here. At the time he said he did not have enough money to compete in both states. But then, as now, Republicans suspected that Mr. McCain simply felt more comfortable in New Hampshire, where Republicans are less conservative.”
PAUL : The New York Times notes the tight-fisted-ness of the Paul campaign, which has spent less than $.50 of every dollar raised so far.
ROMNEY : So Iowa's popular GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley isn't endorsing, but he decided to handicap the caucuses yesterday and declared that Romney will in and Huckabee will finish second. Is this his way of endorsing someone else, by raising the expectations? “‘Why? Romney's got a state-to-state plan to do well in Iowa, he has money, and Huckabee relates very much to Iowans,’ Grassley said. ‘Giuliani because he's waking up and realizes he needs to place third to go anywhere.’”
The Boston Globe examines the charitable contributions the Romneys made to conservative groups over the last year which are now paying dividends. "Romney's charitable foundation gave $253,833 to groups helping the needy and to organizations influential in Republican circles last year, while he was laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign, according to tax records.”
The Boston Phoenix makes a fascinating point about the Mormon debate. "But the real question is why another candidate hasn’t stepped forward to defend Romney against the religious bigotry he’s facing – not with an offhand comment or two – but with a major Mormon speech of his own. True, doing so might seem like a risky political maneuver, since it would aid a fellow contender. But it’s the right thing to do — and could even help the campaign of the candidate who rises to Romney’s defense… But none of the other candidates have these excuses — which makes one wonder exactly what kind of people we have seeking the nation’s highest office this year. As potential leaders of the nation, don’t they think religious prejudice is something they ought to confront, especially since the issues of religion and politics are currently so intertwined?"
The Boston Herald reports on the Romney campaign denial that their own pollster, Alex Gage, was somehow behind the negative Mormon message testing that's been referred to in the media as a "push poll." Of course, it appears the Mormon questions were part of an extensive research project and not simply a battery of negative phone calls.
THOMPSON : The Boston Globe is unimpressed with Thompson after his 4% showing in the latest CNN/WMUR New Hampshire poll. “Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee have leapfrogged Thompson, who is now in sixth in the Granite State with just 4 percent support, down from 13 percent in September when he entered the race. While there was quite a bit of initial buzz Thompson, the actor and former US senator from Tennessee, he thus far has failed to impress voters in New Hampshire and elsewhere.”
