Posted on 01/31/2007 8:46:24 AM PST by Antoninus
Political analyst and former Democrat insider Keith Thompson says even though Duncan Hunter is considered a long-shot for the White House, the California congressman could move into the top tier of GOP hopefuls as the 2008 presidential campaign progresses.
Hunter officially entered the 2008 presidential "sweepstakes" last week, Thompson notes. He says the candidate, as the former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has a strong conservative voting record working in his favor; and he is particularly known for his support of the military and his opposition to illegal immigration.
For these reasons, Thompson feels the California representative is at the top of the second tier of Republican hopefuls right now and is capable of moving up. Hunter has "a fairly decent financial base right now [and] some key supporters who are helping him get his campaign to the next level," the political analyst points out; "so I think he could come right into that first tier very quickly and be a significant candidate for the nomination."
Hunter's biggest problem is name recognition, Thompson acknowledges. He says that is one advantage early GOP favorites John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have over the California lawmaker.
But even though Hunter does not come in with the years of exposure that those virtually "mythological figures" have, Thompson observes, he says "the name recognition factor could change," and Hunter could become a force to be reckoned with in the coming 2008 presidential campaign.
Your post makes it seems as if that's a bad thing (/sarc).
So you all now consider people who may support Rudy to be Nazis?
You all have gone off the deep end with your hatred.
... goes the weasel. Again.
DH4WH
Expect McCainiacs and Rudy-tooters to ratchet up the volume considerably.
Neither do Barnes and Kondrake and Hume and Liason and Kristol ever mention Duncan Hunter. To them, Duncan Hunter doesn't exist. That just isn't true. He deserves mention every bit as much or more than Mike Huckabee for instance.
This is inside the beltway mentality. Pure and simple. It's so easy to spot a child could see it. Not to be insulting or anything, it's just that I get so wearied of this I lost my composure for a second.
Sorry.
You dont need hundreds of dollars or even thousands, you need at least 100 million to run for President. In Hunter's case, probably more because your candidate has absolutely no name recognition. He doesnt have much time to build this name recognition. Nomination will be sewed up by Super Tuesday because all the major primaries are moving their schedule up next year. From the time people start paying attention around the time of the New Hampshire primary which Hunter is not going to win, he will have just over a month to campaign all over the country. And because the big states will be holding their primaries early he needs to spend big in those major media markets (very expensive) to get any traction and to bring his name recognition up to the level of Romney or Newt and still be far behind McCain or Giuliani. You really dont think the MSM is going to give him free media exposure? Since he's no longer chairman of anything, he's got no forum from which to toot his own horn. He's toast.
You cannot will this to happen, no matter how much you would like it to occur. It just is not in the political cards and if by some stupid chance he could become a front runner for the nomination, his only contribution would be to steer the debate, or get a bit of publicity for a appointment.(assuming a Republican wins)
House members candidacies are useless with the single exception of a way to guide the debate and the issues. The reality is that they are not designed to win nominations, and never have been. It is a political anomaly when one actually succeeds.
Thats my bellweather, Hunter in 08.
I guess you get all your views about the Iraq War from the MSM as well, then?
No, my little grasshopper, they want us to nominate him so Hillary can easily beat him in the general election. Who would you prefer the Dems nominate, Hillary, Obama, or Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich obviously. He's got no chance and he wouldnt be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. He would be like us nominating Bob Dole in '96 just so we had a candidate.
You guys worried about Hunter?
I RESENT BEING CALLED A NAZI! That is Not Necessary.
Huckabee is a former governor. Most elected presidents have executive experience as governors. Only JFK this century was elected while in the Senate and I dont believe anyone who was a sitting member of the House of Representatives has ever been elected President. Different skill sets are needed for each. Executives need to make decisions and know how to run massive organizations. Senators and reps need to know how to bloviate and leglislate. They even talk a language which is almost totally obscure and nonsense to real people.
If Hunter seizes the immigration issue, he will be a major player since the other "name" candidates are on the wrong side of the issue. Hunter is a veteran, has a son who served in Iraq, knows the issues from his years in Congress, and can handle himself in debates. It will be up to him to define his opponents and contrast himself with them on the issues. It will be an uphill battle, but Hunter does offer something different from the RINOs who have seized control of the party.
It is refreshing to see good news on a daily basis. As for the name recognition there is still time for that to develope. There is no question that Hunter is the best of the pack. Go Hunter!
That is good news...
This, plus seeing Biden shoot himself in the mouth this morning, is making my day so far.
That's what happens when you nominate by name recognition instead of core GOP values.
Kinda like what some folks are doing with Rudy now.
Duncan Hunter is the man!!
Great!!! A DEMOCRAT is pushing Duncan Hunter -- can't imagine why, can you? Could it be, because Hillary could beat him by about 70/30?
You're really helping make Free Republic look more and more like Stormfront every day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.