Fred’s been getting started for how long now?
Look here’s some interesting numbers I found. You have to go all the way back to 1980 to find a second place winner in IOWA who went on to win the nomination. Fred needs to Win to Win.
Republicans
2004- George W. Bush* (unopposed)
2000- George W. Bush* (41%) defeated Steve Forbes (30%), Alan Keyes (14%), Gary Bauer (9%), John McCain (5%) and Orrin Hatch (1%)
1996- Bob Dole (26%) defeated Pat Buchanan (23%), Lamar Alexander (18%), Steve Forbes (10%), Phil Gramm (9%), Alan Keyes (7%), Richard Lugar (4%) and Morry Taylor (1%)
1992- George H. W. Bush (unopposed)
1988- Bob Dole (37%) defeated Pat Robertson (25%), George H. W. Bush* (19%), Jack Kemp (11%) and Pete DuPont (7%)
1984- Ronald Reagan* (unopposed)
1980- George H. W. Bush (32%) defeated Ronald Reagan* (30%), Howard Baker (15%), John Connally (9%), Phil Crane (7%), John B. Anderson (4%) and Bob Dole (2%)
1976- Gerald Ford defeated Ronald Reagan
Tonight on Hannity’s show he points out Iowa and Republican winners, even goes back to 1980. He’s was prepared, they were’nt.
But you only have to go back to 1988 to find a third place finisher who went on to win it all.....GHW Bush.
The dynamics are very different this year with the number of first tier candidates and the timing of primaries. If Fred makes a much stronger than expected showing in Iowa, he will have a lot of momentum.
Just might be 1980 all over again! In my opinion, Fred Thompson is the closest to Ronald Reagan this time around!
GO FRED! :)
Are you deliberately ignoring GHWB's THIRD place finish in 1988? Gee, if memory serves me right, I coulda swore he won not only the GOP nomination that year but the presidency.
Of course WINNING is always preferred to 2nd or 3rd, but Fred certainly is not "finished" if he doesn't win. Do you expect everyone to drop out of the race except for the winner after Iowa? LOL
Romney will probably win Iowa. Huckabee has peaked and is on his way down. I can easily see him imploding and fading to 3rd while Fred moves up into 2nd.
Morry Taylor? I’m a political junkie old enough to remember all these elections and candidates. Who the hell was Morry Taylor? LOL
Hank
Or, to read it another way, other than our last Republican President, all the other Republican Presidents back to 1976 didn't come in first in Iowa their first time running for the nomination. But that doesn't really fit what you wanted to say, does it? From your list, it doesn't appear that you have to win Iowegia at all. Just a decent showing and off you go.