Posted on 12/17/2006 8:36:05 AM PST by advance_copy
I'd support Barbour if he ran. But I haven't heard much from him. There's also Sonny Perdue.
No offense to Southerners as it's not my personal opinion but just a judgement of what's needed to win places like Ohio, etc. but you just can't run anyone from the South at the top of the ticket in the current political climate.
Perfectly fine to toss in a Barbour or a Sanford or whatever as VP, but it's not going to work at the top of the ticket.
Newt is not an "in your face" candidate; he's a mainstream conservative. He could win Ohio if the Rockefeller Republicans don't take over the party.
Just curious: why, on both counts?
Gingrich has been successfully demonized in the popular imagination and is not electable.
Heck. Half of Ohio is southern. Get outside of Cleveland by about fifty miles, and you don't know the difference between there and Tennessee (except for the accent).
History is full of Ohio young men and women who got charmed by smooth talking southerners. Plenty of Ohio buckeyes trace their roots back to the south.
That is the key. Newt is the spiritual leader of the conservatives. He knows the way but he is not an "alpha male" so the men won't follow him and the women won't vote for him.
He is our "Yoda"
"YODA NEWT"
Because they're not going to vote for Hillary over Giuliani, and the Democrats aren't going to run a socially conservative candidate.
Another problem(and I'm completely serious and this matters more than Newt's views on any issue):
People don't want a President named "Newt."
Just out of curiosity..
Would you stay home and not vote in a Hillary/Giuliani general election. REALLY stay home?
I don't know... they voted for a President named Jimmy.
They won't, but if Giuliani somehow wins the GOP nomination, two things are almost certain:
Have we already forgotten 1992? 1992 is what happens when you throw your base aside.
And maybe, just maybe, Giuliani could hang on to Alabama, but he'd almost certainly lose Georgia.
He was exonerated of all ethical charges except one (he signed a letter prepared by someone else that contained a factual error and paid $300k for the resulting investigation). He may not be electible, but he is not as ethically challenged as just about any Dem you could name. So let's be fair about that.
He is smart and a clear communicator, and you know where he stands. This is more than I can say about almost anybody running from either party. Obama is eloquent, but his charisma masks his extreme left-wing agenda.
I've been to southern Ohio (and Southern Indiana, and Southern Illinois for that matter) and I'm aware they're really sort of Southern in a lot of ways. Heck, South Central Pennsylvania is Southern.
However the problem is the distribution of population - and also the need to find a candidate that SEEMS as different from GWB as you can - I don't think people want a guy with any sort of Southern Accent.
He's the only Republican that I absolutely cannot vote for. Many here will not vote for McCain, but I would at least consider voting for McCain. But Giuliani...no way.
I think you're simply out of touch with the reality of the population at large, no other way to say it. Do you have anyone in your family or friends that's a Democrat or independent or swing voting Democrat?
To begin with Newt wasn't someone that women liked, but the above is an absolute killer.
And in terms of the perception of women it's much worse than anything Giuliani has done. And despite Newt objectively being better looking (I guess) than Giuliani, Giuliani is perceived as a sexier guy.
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