Free Republic

FredHeads will play a vital role in this race and WILL end up choosing the nominee, though, to their obvious chagrin, it will not be for their first choice candidate. I've been watching and analyzing this race for two years now, reading and commenting nearly daily at forumns such as RedState, FreeRepublic, and Race42008. I've seen the slow dance of Fred's entrance, his surge in popularity and polls, and his steady decline. I've debated with FredHeads about both Fred and Mitt, their strengths and weaknesses. Interestingly, there has been a significant "warming" to Mitt among FredHeads and vice-a-versa over...

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has moved a campaign rally with talk show host Oprah Winfrey to a football stadium that can hold more than 80,000 people. ADVERTISEMENT The event had been scheduled for an 18,000-seat coliseum near the University of South Carolina campus, but the campaign ran out of the free tickets just two days after it began distributing them. Tickets will no longer be needed. "We wanted to make sure everyone in South Carolina who wanted to see Barack Obama and meet Oprah Winfrey had the opportunity," said Inez Tenenbaum, an Obama supporter and former...

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday. "Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the...

This is back in September, nearly six weeks before the massive landslide that would upend the U.S. Congress, and Rahm Emanuel is looking grim. HeÂ’s sitting in a restaurant on Capitol Hill but needs to be back on the House floor soon for a late-night vote, and so he snaps at the server to speed up his steak. He looks like he needs it. Though he swims a mile most days, the campaign has taken a visible toll on him. HeÂ’s lost nearly fifteen pounds since early 2005, when he started his gig as the mastermind of the DemocratsÂ’ effort...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was seeking to cement his reputation Tuesday as the kingmaker of California politics after putting his credibility and at least $11 million of supporters' money on the line to sway ballot measures and legislative races through road shows, ads and voters guides. Voters were siding with the governor to defeat two measures that posed a threat to his ability to control casino-style gambling, and to approve a $3 billion in taxpayer-backed bond measure for corporate stem cell research. It was unclear, though, whether Schwarzenegger's late effort to crush Proposition 66, a bid to relax the state's "three-strikes"...

<p>BILL Clinton's liberal politics go right out the window when it comes to women. Now that auto parts heiress Belinda Stronach has announced she's running to lead Canada's Conservative Party, our northern spies tell us the 37-year-old Magna CEO can count on her old friend Bubba's help. "Clinton is expected to give Belinda council for her bid to become Conservative leader and, if she wins that job, taking on the governing Liberals in the national election," says the source. Clinton's office had no comment.</p>

At pomp's center stands powerful GOP senator By Ryan Alessi HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU Associated Press Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and his wife Glenna dance the first dance under a spotlight during the Grand March as part of his inauguration festivities, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003, in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. FRANKFORT - "Congratulations," some said. Others offered, "Nice job," or "It's great, isn't it?" Many simply said, "Thank you." Although this was Gov. Ernie Fletcher's day, it was U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell -- like a proud papa -- quietly fielding such praise yesterday, as well as hugs and handshakes, from...