A few thoughts.
The concept of being a great businessman and CEO describing exactly the wrong skills for being a “government executive” and CIC is absurd. Cheney was CEO of Halliburton for five years and was also Chairman of the Board.
John McCain won both Iowa and New Hampshire in 2000. This did not affect GW Bush’s fund raising.
Michigan, of course, replaces South Carolina this year and there is no evidence Huckabee is going to win Michigan.
What is unfolding is leading into Guilliani’s strategy and it is astonishing that this is not understood.
The talk here, not the public rumor, of Thompson needing a strong third, is apparently being forgotten given his weak third placing. Very late in the evening McCain actually overtook him briefly. That is not a strong third. That is almost fourth.
It is also astonishing that the Republican base, which could agree only on one issue of the past year — that there must not be liberalized arrangements for illegals, is willing to tolerate Huckabee or McCain. This base is supposed to be able to assert itself in the south, and yet Huckabee and McCain are not in single digits in polling. Apparently illegal immigration isn’t that important after all.
Ooops error, McCain skipped Iowa 2000.