[WFTR]

I like your approach and generally agree with your analysis.

I don't think that Giuliani is all that strong on national security. His support of sanctuary for illegal aliens was part of the whole attitude that led to a police officer releasing one of the 9-11 hijackers after stopping the hijacker for a traffic violation and finding that he was in the country illegally. I fear that his tough foreign policy stances would be more posturing than substance.

For Mr. Hunter and all of the "second-tier" candidates, the secret will be survival and fundraising. I suspect that the Iowa straw poll will eliminate some of the "twin" candidates. For instance, I think Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo are "twin" candidates in that both of them are known as being tough on illegal immigration. Duncan Hunter's positions on trade and national defense and his experience in the military make him a more attractive candidate to me, but he and Tom Tancredo are drawing support from many of the same voters. If one could establish dominance so that voters would switch to his candidacy, he might start to gain some momentum and recognition. I think the same is true for Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback. I see almost no difference between their stands on the issues. Mike Huckabee has better qualifications because he's been a governor. He also performed much better in the debates. If he could take all of that pool of voters, he'd gain momentum and might get some needed attention.

I'm in Louisiana, and we're scheduled to vote on February 9. We'll be the first primary after Super Tuesday. I'm currently trying to help Duncan Hunter a bit, but If more than one candidate is viable after Super Tuesday, I'll likely volunteer for the one that I think will be the best.

Bill

[George W. Bush]

For Mr. Hunter and all of the "second-tier" candidates, the secret will be survival and fundraising. I suspect that the Iowa straw poll will eliminate some of the "twin" candidates. For instance, I think Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo are "twin" candidates in that both of them are known as being tough on illegal immigration. Duncan Hunter's positions on trade and national defense and his experience in the military make him a more attractive candidate to me, but he and Tom Tancredo are drawing support from many of the same voters. If one could establish dominance so that voters would switch to his candidacy, he might start to gain some momentum and recognition.

You're right about Tancredo and Hunter. Tancredo is truly a single-issue candidate and, while he does well with a sympathetic interviewer on the Sunday morning shows, he tenses up and doesn't do well at all in a debate or against a hostile press. Tancredo isn't ready for the White House. I really like him personally but he should drop out once the immigration fight is over for this year.

I think Brownback should drop out. He clearly isn't ready for the big leagues. I think Huckabee is a mixed bag that won't wear well because his only appeal is one-liners and a mixed conservative record and he has a tendency to say rather strange things that will get him in trouble soon. Although they have good resumes, Gilmore and Thompson also have all the charisma of a fence post. They should all drop out.

I'd like to see the Big Three and Fred Thompson and Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter. Winnow the field to six.