Oh-eight (R): Remembering 2000
Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 9:19 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Republicans
The Wall Street Journal previews tonight’s GOP debate: "With six weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, the stakes in this debate are higher. The eight men haven't debated in a month."
The New York Daily News’ curtain-raiser: “With former Mayor Rudy Giuliani riding atop national GOP polls - but rival Mitt Romney ahead in the critical early battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire - the two have spent weeks slapping each other over immigration, abortion and gay rights.”
The Des Moines Register, meanwhile, now has a debate quorum for its 12/12 GOP debate, as Giuliani is now a go.
GIULIANI: The
New York Times front-pages Giuliani’s VERY short Senate campaign versus Hillary Clinton in 2000. "But the 12 months leading to Mr. Giuliani’s departure [from the race] are as instructive today as they were riveting then: a blistering year of mental gamesmanship, piercing attacks, contrasts in personalities and positions, and blunders, played out by two outsize political figures in a super-heated atmosphere. It was a year in which both Mr. Giuliani and Mrs. Clinton gained many of the political skills the nation is seeing now as they campaign for president. It was a time in which they took a measure of one another as opponents. And it was a shared chapter in their lives that offers a window into what a 2008 White House contest between these New Yorkers might be like, should they each win their party’s nomination."
Romney hit Giuliani over health care yesterday. The New York Post: “Romney, campaigning in Florida, cited comments Giuliani made in 1994 praising Clinton's health-care initiative as ‘doing some pretty good things.’”
Bloomberg News looks at how Giuliani is trying to re-write the standard GOP playbook of the last quarter century. "For three decades the Republican electoral formula has been to marry the anti-abortion and anti- gay-rights wing of the party with the low-tax, small-government faction and ride that coalition to victory in the South and West. This year, the party's presidential front-runner is trying a different model.”
More: “Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is emphasizing his national-security credentials and fiscal discipline while sidestepping so-called values issues where he has been criticized for supporting abortion and gay rights. He also is targeting traditional Democratic strongholds such as New Jersey and California, arguably at the expense of some of the more socially conservative Sunbelt states that have gone Republican in presidential races."
HUCKABEE: The Huckabee campaign is admitting that it is benefiting in Iowa because of questions about Romney's faith. "Huckabee’s advisers admit privately they are cognizant of how Mr. Romney’s religion can work against him and how Mr. Huckabee’s evangelical roots are to their advantage at least among some voters. They pointed out, however, that all candidates have aspects of their biographies that can be beneficial or not, depending on the audience.”
“The issue is a delicate one for Mr. Huckabee. He has waffled in recent interviews about whether he considers Mormons to be Christians. The Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination he is a part of, does not consider Mormons to be part of historic Christianity.”
So what about Huckabee's days in Arkansas? He's received very little scrutiny as this
AP story notes. “Huckabee's presidential rivals are pointing to chinks in his record as Arkansas' governor - from ethics complaints to tax increases to illegal immigration and his support for releasing a rapist who was later convicted of killing a Missouri woman. The Republican presidential candidate has plenty to champion from his 10 1/2 years as governor - including school improvements and health insurance for the children of the working poor. But his record has rough edges, and Huckabee has a habit of playing fast and loose with it.”
By the way, the most remarkable thing about Huckabee's rise in Iowa: he hasn’t LIVED in the state, as other presidential candidates have. He spends a decent amount of time there, but not any more than any other major candidate. In fact, Politico notes, "Mike Huckabee has not been in the state since Nov. 8 and won't be back until Dec. 3rd at the earliest.
MCCAIN: The Los Angeles Times writes, "More than any other candidate for president, McCain has tied his fortunes to support for sending more U.S. troops into the unpopular war. Now that violence in Iraq has waned after a troop buildup, McCain wants some credit." But the article notes that McCain hasn't seen any improved standing, despite the improved feelings the public now has for the surge and Iraq.
ROMNEY: So has Romney run the first paid negative ad? Not really, but a new piece of direct mail in Iowa is interesting because Romney compares his stance on gay marriage with three of his rivals -- and names names, including McCain’s, Giuliani’s, and Thompson’s. "The mailing juxtaposes photos and quotes from Romney showing his support for a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman with photos and quotes showing that Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Fred Thompson all oppose such a measure.”
“But it makes no mention of Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher whose website says he has consistently supported a federal marriage amendment and led successful efforts to pass such an amendment at the state level in 2002."
“Whether Giuliani can turn Daniel Tavares Jr. into Willie Horton is an open question,” writes the AP’s Glen Johnson, which is re-run in the Columbia State. “The war in Iraq, the rising cost of daily living and concern about terrorism have superseded crime as paramount issues for voters 20 years later. There also is Romney's squeaky clean personal life and his outreach to conservatives as he depicts himself as anything but the more liberal Dukakis.” Earlier in the article, Johnson notes, “Romney is trying to contain the damage. His staff has repeatedly said they fear ads against him by third-party groups, and they are anxious to avoid having the case define him to a national audience.”
Here’s a Boston Globe headline that could help Romney with this: “Lawyers cite state in killer's release.” “The state Department of Correction made errors that contributed to a judge's release of Daniel T. Tavares Jr. without bail, setting in motion events that ended with Tavares' alleged murder of a Washington state couple last week, according to his former lawyer.” One of the items not used as evidence: a letter from Tavares threatening to kill Romney.
Utah GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch believes it's time for Romney to give "the speech."
Meanwhile, Hatch did do Romney a favor yesterday by telling folks at home that the Clintons fear Romney. “‘I would say that [John] McCain, [Rudy] Giuliani and [Fred] Thompson all have backgrounds, I believe, the Clintons can exploit,’ Hatch said. ‘That leaves Mitt Romney.’ Hatch said the only ammo the Clinton camp - which frequently accuses its foes of being part of a Republican attack machine - could target at Romney would be his changing stand on abortion, his too-good-to-be-true charisma and his LDS religion. ‘That's why the Clintons really don't want him to win [the GOP nod],’ Hatch said, ‘because they cannot go after him the way they can with the others.’”
MORE GOP FIELD: The Boston Globe looks at the Republican oppo-research shops. "Mitt Romney, the poll leader in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner in national polls, are the most frequent duelists, but Fred Thompson, John McCain, and, increasingly, the surging Mike Huckabee are also mixing it up in combinations that change depending on the issue, the day, or the latest poll result."
