Slick Willard has to clobber the field in Iowa to justify the money and build any kind of momentum. He can’t just win, he has to win huge.
But with only half a million of voter contributions on hand, he does not seem to be catching fire. Word is getting out about the Slickster, despite what his Sleaze Brigade tries to do in his aid.
Ping!
It would be good to see NH go for McCain and then McCain fizzle, and the glamor of the NH primary forever lost.
“Iowa is a caucus state. And history has shown that it is difficult to turn popular support in Iowa into strength in the caucuses. This is where sheer organization comes into play as candidates must identify who their supporters are at precinct level and then move those supporters physically to the caucus site. In this respect, no one really knows who is ahead in Iowa although Romney is generally acknowledged as having the best organization while Thompson’s presence in the state is considerably less. “
Capt Ed says that the surge is among self-indentified likely caucus goers.
Fred bump!
N.H., a state that chooses McCain in 2000 and goes for Kerry in 2004, has credibility issues as far as I’m concerned.
Thompson hasn’t spent much time in Iowa either, but voters there evidently didn’t have trouble vaulting him into second and trimming Romney’s lead substaintially.
As far as I’m concerned the Thompson campaign should focus on Iowa, Florida..and well obviously S.C. Leave N.H. to the Libs to battle it out.
The Republican primary race is shaping up. Barring a big suprise, the three candidates that have some traction in the polls are Thompson, Guliani, and Romney. McCain is toast. Huckabee and Hunter are good people, but just don’t have the national profile needed to win.
Romney has gone all-in in Iowa and New Hampshire in the hopes that wins in those two states will position him as one of the final two, and the more conservative alternative to Rudy. The actual delegate counts from those states aren’t as important as the perception of winning.
Now it looks like Thompson may overtake Romney in Iowa, and Guliani is going to come close to catching him in New Hampshire, where a narrow Romney win won’t be perceived as a win at at all. If that happens, Romney has nothing left. It will be down to Thomspons and Rudy as the only two candidates with the strength left to wage national campaigns.
In a one-on-one matchup in the Republican primary, the conservative Thompson will win.
Ought to be interesting. I think Romney has been taking Iowa for granted right now, hoping for the domino effect, and so if he loses that, he’s toast.
Someone ought to remind Mr. Romney of a guy named Pat Robertson who thought along those lines.
at this point I am hoping that Guiliani goes the way of McCain.
The sooner that candidate is out of the primary the sooner we can go to serious candates.
Then we have only Romeny and Thompson and who will require a smaller clothespin.
LLS
One thing that is interesting is that even though there are definite differences between the Republican candidates, there is a greater difference between any Republican candidate and Hillary. All have said they would appoint strict constructionist judges. One thing that conservatives cannot afford to lose is the Supreme Court. It’s getting very gray and aged. I just hope conservatives learned something from ‘06 and get out and vote this time or there will be very dark days ahead.
Yes
Anything that shows continued erosion in support for Giuliani is good news. Good news indeed!!