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McCain and Huckabee?

Posted by John on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 11:10:17 PM
Tonight  is a really great night for two of the four remaining Republican candidates. Although Romney delivered a few more states (adding to his victories from Michigan, Maine, Wyoming and Nevada), John McCain really proved that he could deliver more victories. As the frontrunner, McCain has won several northeast states tonight in addition to other important states like Arizona, Illinois and Oklahoma.

However, the main story tonight might be Mike Huckabee. Before today, Huckabee has not won a state since Iowa (way back at the beginning of January). Since then, his star and the favorable press coverage have faded as the other candidates took center stage. However, Huck made a major comebakc tonight winning at least five different states tonight. Even though those are Southern states, that is a great victory for him as many people had counted him out and said that he was blocking the real two man battle from taking place.

I was just reviewing the Real Clear Politics numbers and that site has McCain  winning both Tennessee and Alabama and Georgia in the polling average numbers. Those are three major upsets that Huckabee pulled out from McCain.

McCain is still the frontrunner and he had a great night tonight but Huckabee's victory's over the national frontrunner really do point to some qualities that McCain is missing. Huckabee is a Southern, socially-conservative Christian and the bases of support that underlie those qualities did not jump ship to go to McCain tonight. They stayed with their candidate and really made a big difference in giving Huckabee a lot of support.
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Schwarzenegger Says that he will Endorse McCain

Posted by John on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 9:40:30 PM

The momentum continues to build for John McCain.

First, the Governor or Florida endorsed him right before the primary in that state. Now, the Governor of California pledges to endorse McCain before Super Tuesday (when California votes).

 

The momentum and the growing support for McCain in the GOP is a story that Romney is going to have a hard time stepping on.

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In a word: Timetables

Posted by John on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 9:37:10 PM
This was the last debate before Super Tuesday and one of the best, I think.

9:30: Romney talks first and he talks about the issues that conservatives have with McCain. McCain talks about Ronald Reagan's steadfast support for what he believed in (Great response). Ron Paul says that he is not sure what Reagan would do right now. Huckabee states that it is presumptious for him to say that Reagan would endorse him.   

9:29: Anderson Cooper asks each of the candidates: Would Ronald Reagan endorse you and why? (Best question of the night.)

9:17: "I know how to lead." McCain says when asked if he is better to handle the economy than former Governor Mitt Romney. He also notes that he can hire managers but he is a leader. Romney brings up the Governors-versus-Senators debate about presidential candidates. Lest anyone forget, John F. Kennedy was the last person to go directly from the Senate to the White House. (Nixon was a Senator, too, but not right before being elected President.)

9:04: Romney mentions again having timetables. Whatever his true position is, he is not anti-timetables. 

8:59: Romney is asked about the timetable from Iraq. This was an issue that defined the last weekend of campaigning in Florida. Romney is on the defensive again but this is an answer that he seems to have prepared well in advance. Romney argues that Reagan would have thought McCain's tactics the last weekend before the Florida primary were a bit reprehensible. Romney and McCain get into it.   

8:55: The debate is about to enter the third and final stage. No clear winner of the debate so far.
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GOP Candidates Debate Sandra Day O'Connor

Posted by John on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 8:52:55 PM
8:46: Anderson Cooper brings up Ronald Reagan's decision to nominate Sandra Day O' Connor to the Supreme Court. He asks if that nomination was a good decision. Paul says that he would not have appointed Sandra Day O'Connor. McCain says a few nice words abut O'Connor but then he states that he woud appoint justices like Roberts and Alito. I think he balanced that response out well. 

8:43: The issue olf illegal immigration comes up. It is amazing to see how far Huckabee has come on this issue. Earlier in debates, Huckabee was defending his leniency involving children of illegal immigrants in Arkansas. Now, Huckabee is talking tougher about illegal immigration. McCain, as he has done in the past, talks about securing the borders FIRST.
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Huckabee on Stimulus; Romney on the Big Dig

Posted by John on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 8:40:16 PM
8:30: Uh-oh. The Big Dig comes up. I thought leaving Massachusetts meant leaving that mess behind me. Guess not. Mitt Romney definitely does not want to have to talk about that massive wasteful project. 

8:27: Huckabee is asked about his economic stimulus plan of building a massive highway in the Eastern part of our country. He is not talking about how his plan would be different from a Democrat's. He is just supporting his own plan. He just suggested another highway in California. (Is he serious?)

8:23: This is definitely a two man race here. Huckabee and Paul are like John Edwards at a Democratic debate.

8:17: The question of Massachusetts fees comes up again. Romney definitely does not want to spend the debate tonight talking about how he raised fees. Additionally, he is on the defensive on his health insurance plan for the state.
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McCain vs. Romney Debate

Posted by John on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 8:17:01 PM
8:09: Romney admits that McCain is a good Republican but then talks about how they differ on the issues. At the least, he is being more positive than in the past. When Romney discusses the issues and the distinctions between him and the Senator from Arizona, he definitely represents himself well.

8:06: Huckabee says that he believes the country is not better off than it was eight years ago. I wonder how many conservatives groaned at that answer. Ron Paul says that we are worse off now than it was eight years ago. If there was ever a clear division between Huckabee and Paul and Romney and McCain, this would be it.
 
8:05: McCain brings up Michigan, where he lost in the primary this year, in his response to a question about whether or not this country is better off than it was eight years ago. Not the best thing to bring up here. Romney won Michigan based predominantly on his message of the economy.
  
8:01 : No rules on length from Anderson Cooper. Interesting decision. At least, this will keep us away from the buzzing sound, so often heard at previous debates.
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And then there were Four

Posted by John on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 8:03:21 PM
Four GOP candidates remain tonight in the CNN debate...it should be an exciting night.

I will be blogging it in real time.
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McCain Wins Florida

Posted by John on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:49:49 PM
The importance of tonight's victory for John McCain should not be underestimated. McCain has now proven that he can win over Republican voters (and not just independents) and he has proven that he has the momentum to go into Super Tuesday next week, where he is ahead in many polls.

However, the nomination is surely not his at this point as there are seven days between now and Super Tuesday and if this election has proven anything, it has proven that seven days can be a game changer. The big opening for Governor Mitt Romney to try to prevent McCain from getting the GOP nomination will be tomorrow night's debate.

That debate promises to be more contentious and smaller than the past debates. If Giuliani drops out and endorses McCain tomorrow, the debate will only include McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Paul-- quite a change from the past debates.

However, it can be firmly stated tonight that John McCain is the Republican frontrunner. He has proved himself by winning New Hampshire, South Carolina and now Florida. If nothing changes between tonight and next Tuesday, expect John McCain to be the GOP nominee.
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The Debate Continues

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:37:54 PM
10:25 PM: Huckabee distances himself from the Chuck Norris comments about McCain's age. McCain states that he will send Sly Stallone after him. (Sly recently endorsed McCain.) McCain is definitely touting his endorsements tonight. Is he the establishment candidate now?

[Mary Katherine Ham has put up the new advertisement from John McCain's campaign. Check it out by clicking here.  It takes on Mitt Romney's flip flops.]

10:17 PM: Huckabee suggests that Romney keep his money and give it to his five sons. Elect Huckabee, he argues, and Romney will give his boys a great country too. Good joke but timing is a little off.

10:09 PM: Romney makes a joke about Bill Clinton being in the White House without anything to do...Uh-oh.
On the issue of how much money Romney has put into his campaign, he  says that he is not concerned about the voters as much as he is concerned with the other people on the stage with him. Maybe he wants to take that back.

10:00 PM: Giuliani says that his campaign team is going to come from behind like the New York Giants, (Too bad the Giants are going to lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl).
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CNN Breaking News

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:06:08 PM
The New York Times has endorsed Clinton as the Democratic nominee...although this is not a major surprise, an Obama endorsement seemed definitely possible too.
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Candidates Question Each Other

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:03:38 PM
9:57 PM: This debate has proven very slow as compared to the debate between Clinton and Obama. Is that a good thing?

9:54 PM: Another question for Romney from Giuliani. In a question about catastrophe insurance, Romney brings up his health insurance plan from Massachusetts. Not a great topic for a GOP debate. The Dems are trying to mandate health care. Republicans shouldn't.

9:51 PM: Huckabee asks Romney about the second amendment.

9:48 PM: Congressman Ron Paul asks McCain a question about a fiscal issue. Weird?!? I am surprised he does not bring up the War in Iraq. He seems a lot less fiery tonight. McCain brings up Phil Gramm and Jack Kemp (again) to prove his economic credentials.

9:46 PM: These questions are less hardball than I would have expected. Romney asks Giuliani about China and the economy. McCain asks Huckabee about the fair tax. Great line from Huckabee about non-Republicans (noting that prostitutes, pimps and gamblers are not members of the GOP).

I am glad that the GOP candidates are able to question each other. I think this should have been happening in a lot more debates. It is good for the country to see these candidates engage each other, other than just engaging the moderator (which has happened for much of this debate so far).
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Was the war a good idea?

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:45:55 PM
9:32 PM:

McCain: "The war was a good idea."
Giuliani: I was for the war when six out of ten were four it and I am for it now that six out of ten are against it.
Paul: "It [the war] was a very bad idea and it was not worth it."
Huckabee: "We owe the president our thanks...." (Huckabee then compares weapons of mass destruction to Easter eggs. Not a good comparison, by any stretch.)
Romney: The Democrats will have to face the GOP in a future debate to talk about the war.


9:32 PM:  Tim Russert asks: Will you go to the country and say that the war was a good idea (if elected)?
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From the Economy to Foreign Policy...

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:32:49 PM
9:26 PM: The debate turns to foreign policy and Iraq. McCain speaks about this issue first. This is his topic. 

9:22 PM: Huckabee does very well talking about the working people of our economy. This is where he strives.

"Washington is fundamentally broke," Romney says. He goes through a list of issues in D.C. that were supposed to be fixed but have not been. Romney says that he it is easy to take a shot at the bridge to nowhere (an obvious swipe at McCain).

9:20 PM: McCain talks about spending and says that the GOP are partly responsible for our fiscal situation. "I will impose some fiscal responsibility." McCain says.  

9:19 PM: "I am pretty much in favor of trade. I am pretty much in favor of free trade." -Rudy Giuliani
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The Debate Begins

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:18:30 PM
9:02 PM: Great response from  Romney on the stimulus plan. It definitely shows that Romney is in his element when he talks about the economy. McCain follows up with a solid response. He mentions possible earmarks to the stimulus packages that he wants to prevent. He also talks about fiscal responsibility. In his response, Giuliani gives McCain credit for his ideas about fiscal responsibility. Will these candidates be kind to McCain and anti-Romney (like we have seen before)? 

9:10 PM: Is Mike Huckabee proposing a major highway project that would cost the United States government millions of dollars? Where is fiscal responsibility in that, Huckabee?

9:13 PM: John McCain is talking about his previous votes on the Bush tax cuts. Not a great topic for him but he handles himself well.

So far, no major moments from the debate.
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Live Blogging the GOP Debate

Posted by John on Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:00:19 PM
Less than three minutes remain before the last GOP debate before the primary on Tuesday on Florida. This debate could change the course of the race...

Florida is very important and all of these candidates know it... I will be blogging it live as it occurs.
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