Oh-eight (R): Rudy full of energy
Posted: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 9:18 AM by Mark Murray
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Republicans
GIULIANI: In an enthusiastic performance yesterday, Giuliani said the type of change Democrats were striving for was “to take the change out of my pocket,” NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger says. He contrasted the changes he wants to make versus those of the Democratic candidates. “When you see their slogan ‘change,’ put right next to it, ‘yes, they want to take the change out of my pocket,’” he said. “They do. I’m not kidding.”
For the third time in a week, Giuliani was heckled by pro-life activists. As a woman began to ask a final question, a young man stood up and yelled, “What about the unborn?” The female questioner began yelling, “My turn! I have the right! He’s out of line! Where are Roberts Rules of Order?”
As the man was escorted out of the room to boos, Giuliani joked, “It’s OK, I come from New York.”
Indeed, Berger adds, Giuliani seemed to be at his best yesterday -- with high doses of energy and thinly veiled zingers at Romney and Clinton that landed well and drew laughs. Giuliani has seemed hesitant and timid since his health scare several weeks ago, and campaign aides are suggesting they hope the afternoon performance is the start of good things to come. Of course, it is way too late for New Hampshire, but Florida has always been there most important victory.
In the end, Giuliani's decision to largely bypass Iowa and New Hampshire may not be the cause of the recent slide in his standing. It may be the combination of skipping the early states and working around the national media. When the national press went to Des Moines and Manchester and Rudy wasn't there, the fact that they hadn't forged good ties with the national media meant they could call in few favors to get back into the dialogue.
HUCKABEE: The New York Times looks at how Arkansas has become a proving ground for presidents.
MCCAIN: The Union Leader describes McCain as "confident." "At an afternoon rally in Manchester, the fifth of seven stops on his 'Mac is Back' tour, McCain told the crowd a New Hampshire win and he would 'march on to victory.'"
The Washington Post: "McCain aides said they believe he will win, but they conceded that the outcome will be close, especially if most independents choose to vote in the Democratic primary. McCain is strong among independents, but Obama is also expected to draw strongly from that group, and that could hurt McCain in what is expected to be a one-on-one contest with Romney."
ROMNEY: So does Romney have a shot at hanging around even if he loses New Hampshire? Apparently so, says the Los Angeles Times. "The turn of fortune has ‘totally stunned’ some inside the Romney camp, who think they need to finish first or a close second to improve their chances of winning upcoming contests in states such as Michigan, South Carolina and Nevada, said an advisor who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.”
"Lets say its Barack Obama up there and we are debating against each other, we will both be talking about changing Washington,” Romney said yesterday, per NBC’s John Boxley. “He'll be talking about taking it a sharp left turn following in the path of the Europe of old, with Big Brother and big government and big taxes, and that it won’t sell. And I will be talking about following in the footsteps that Ronald Reagan built.”
More: "And then I will have one more question, Barack: Name something you have changed. Name a business you have changed. Name an Olympics, or volunteer organization you have changed. Name something in Washington you have changed. But you have never done it. I have done it."
THOMPSON: Fred Thompson has long been accused of lacking the ambition and vigor to really put his shoulder to the presidential wheel. But last night, the woman who's rumored to be in the driver's seat of his campaign said that Fred's steadiness is his strength, NBC/NJ’s Carrie Dann reports. "It wasn't something that he had a burning desire for," Jeri Thompson said of her husband's initial feelings towards his presidential run. But, she added, "It's a different thing to have a burning desire or ambition to be president. And I think we really need to think about if that's the kind of guy we want"
In her remarks to party loyalists in heavily Republican Lexington County in South Carolina, Thompson acknowledged that she often hears the question "Does he really want it bad enough?" from those skeptical that Fred's heart is really in the game. She said that his steady dedication to conservative principles highlights his desire to elevate honesty, not his own reputation, in the White House. She added that her husband did not jump into the race as early as his competitors because he "had a lot of contracts" from which to extract himself before launching his run. "He is an honorable man that believes in the rule of law," she said.
