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The way to avoid a Rudy nomination is to simply bury him in the primaries. Let's examine a few key facts. 1) The current national polls have Rudy at about 30%, Thompson at 21%, McCain at 13%, Romney at 11%, and Huckabee at 6%. The other 19% are either going for a minor candidate or are undecided. 2) Rudy is mostly leading because a) he's the only pro-choice candidate against seven pro-life candidates and b) he's supported by some conservatives because he's seen as the best chance to win. 3) While McCain is listed as third here, it's pretty generally...

On economic matters, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson stand above the rest of the Republican field both on substance and on refusal to pander to populist myths. Of the two, Giuliani is the more engaging, the more memorable, and the more clear -- but Thompson wasn’t bad at all. That’s the quick-response reaction to Tuesday’s Michigan presidential debate on economic matters. The truth is, when social issues are off the table, Giuliani is as solidly a Reaganite conservative as there is, and Thompson is not far behind. On the other hand, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is about as economically...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #8 – Dearborn, Michigan 10/09/07 - Official Discussion Thread CNBC/MSNBC/The Wall Street Journal are jointly sponsoring the first Republican Presidential debate of the 2008 campaign focusing on economic issues. It will be held on October 9 in Dearborn, Michigan at the University of Michigan-Dearborn at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. Broadcast is live on CNBC at 4 PM ET (1 PM PT) and re-broadcast on MSNBC at 9 PM ET (6 PM PT). CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and MSNBC's Chris Matthews will host the debate. Live streaming on CNBC.com Candidates participating: Sam Brownback Rudy Giuliani...

Third-quarter fundraising for the 2008 presidential candidates has wrapped up, and as money provides a good gauge for the continued viability of a candidate, some candidates need to consider hanging it up. Frankly, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.) and Senators Joe Biden (D. Del.), Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Tom Tancredo (R., Colo.) need to get back to work... Sen. McCain, meanwhile, continues to disappoint. He raised $5 million this quarter and still carries about $2 million in debt. His campaign has mulled over accepting public financing. He received a dead-cat bounce...

For one day at least, Wyoming felt a little like New Hampshire. Three Republican presidential candidates, including former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, made their pitch to the Cowboy State at a packed forum in Casper on Saturday. The newfound attention comes on the heels of a decision by the Wyoming Republican Party to move its county conventions up to Jan. 5, to be closer to the New Hampshire primary, traditionally the first in the nation. "It behooves all the candidates to pay attention to the state of Wyoming," said Joe Schloss, chairman of the Teton County Republican Party. A crowd...

Three Republican candidates for president—Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter and Sam Brownback—all ventured into “Cheney country” this weekend, during a meet-the-candidates forum held at Swede Erickson Thunderbird Gymnasium at Casper College. The college is just up the hill from the alma mater of Vice-President Dick Cheney, Natrona County High School. All three sounded largely the same themes, although Hunter took a more populist slant, decrying the loss of manufacturing jobs to China. The Wyoming Republican Party has scheduled a Jan. 5 convention, allowing Wyoming to compete in staging the first presidential primaries and county conventions in the country. “We’re going to...

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - State Republican leaders are getting a chance to throw questions at three presidential candidates in Casper today (Saturday). Fred Thompson, Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter will each give a speech, then take questions from members of the Wyoming GOP Central Committee at Casper College. A similar event will take place in Riverton this evening, although Thompson says he's not going to participate in that event. Wyoming Republicans began organizing the forum last month, soon after they moved up to Jan. 5 their date for choosing delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Currently that date will...

CHEYENNE -- Getting the national media spotlight to shine on Wyoming politics is a little like getting sunlight to the floor of the rainforest. But the state GOP has chopped away some of the old growth lately by joining a handful of states jockeying for early presidential caucuses and primaries. Wyoming's early county conventions has also attracted an unprecedented four presidential candidates to forums this weekend in Casper and Riverton, including former Tennessee senator and "Law and Order" TV star Fred Thompson. The early conventions were the brainchild of Tom Sansonetti, the longtime GOP activist, former Justice Department official and...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #7 – Baltimore, Maryland 09/27/07 - Official Discussion Thread All-American Presidential Forum on PBS Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland September 27, 2007, 9:00 pm-10:30 pm ET (check your local PBS listings) Moderated by Tavis Smiley. Candidates participating: Sam Brownback Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter Alan Keyes Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Journalists involved... Ray Suarez is a Washington-based Senior Correspondent who joined The NewsHour in October 1999. Suarez has thirty years of varied experience in the news business. Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist whose work appears in...

Over the past four months, Rasmussen Reports polling has consistently shown Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani holding the top two slots in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination. During that time, the weekly poll results have shown Thompson’s support ranging from a low of 20% to a high of 28%. Giuliani’s range has been similar, from 19% to 27%. Although Thompson and Giuliani are the frontrunners, both men still have plenty of detractors who say they can’t possibly win the nomination. For the week ending September 23, it’s Thompson 26% and Giuliani 22%. Occupying a precarious niche somewhere between...

Just five Republican candidates - half the invited field - will take part in Thursday's presidential debate in Baltimore, event organizers said yesterday. The four leading contenders, Rudolph W. Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, have each said they will not participate in the forum focusing on issues facing minority voters. Their absence has drawn the ire of Tavis Smiley, the talk-show host who is moderating and organizing the debate at Morgan State University; he said the candidates are making a mistake in not reaching out to black voters. A list of confirmed participants released yesterday also omits...

There's no need to ask Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, why his agency created the Defending the American Dream Summit. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. -- who actually could be president one day -- can tell you. At the NASDAQ stock market last week, Mr. Obama said the "'what's-good-enough-for-me-is-good-enough' mentality has crept into parts of the business world, while working men and women toil longer hours and still struggle to pay for health care, tuition and taxes," according to The Associated Press. "If we are honest, I think we must admit that those who have benefited from the...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Sam Brownback, the Kansas senator and Republican presidential candidate, has introduced a new bill that would require abortion practitioners to perform an ultrasound and allow women contemplating an abortion to see the pictures of their unborn child. The hope is that it will persuade many women to keep their baby.The Ultrasound Informed Consent Act is similar to bills lawmakers in states like Texas, South Carolina and Georgia have proposed.Pregnancy centers routinely show women ultrasound photos and a high percentage of women decide against having an abortion."It is necessary and right to provide a woman seeking...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #6 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida 09/17/07 - Official Discussion Thread The debate will focus on issues of special concern to social and religious conservatives who brand themselves "values voters." The candidates will begin arriving here mid-afternoon, and the debate kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be streamed live via the Internet at ValuesVoterDebate.com and the website for the American Family Association. It is also reported to be telecast on Sky Angel's Angel One channel & Dish Network channel #262. Moderated by Joseph Farah, editor of WorldNetDaily Candidates participating Sam Brownback John Cox Mike...

FORT WORTH, Texas --One of the names coming up most frequently as the 2008 presidential campaign gears up isn't even a candidate. It's Rick Scarborough, an East Texas Baptist minister and evangelist determined to bring conservative Christian Republicans back to the polls next year. The presidential election is still more than a year away, but the primary campaigns are in full swing, and Scarborough and other religious leaders are stepping up in the battle being waged for control of the White House, Congress and the GOP itself. They want the full force of conservative Christian voters to be felt in...

The official entry of actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has affected the national race for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in the United States, according to a poll by American Research Group. 24 per cent of respondents would vote for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in a 2008 primary, while 23 per cent would back Thompson. Support for Thompson increased by seven points since August. Arizona senator John McCain is third with 14 per cent, followed by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with nine per cent. Support is lower for former House of Representatives speaker Newt...

Former Senator Fred Thompson first announced that he might be available for the Republican Presidential nomination nearly six months ago. Since then, he has done well in the polls, missed a few possible dates to formally enter the campaign, skipped several Republican Presidential “debates”, and inevitably faced questions as to whether he waited too long to enter the race. Last week, he finally made it official and had the stage to himself while other candidates scrambled for attention in yet another candidate “debate.” The early returns are encouraging for Thompson and his team. Despite the fact that his intentions have...

The press — or some of it — at least some of it have put Barack Obama on the road to oblivion. When the candidate responded, at the July 23 CNN/YouTube Democratic debate, that he would meet with rogue foreign leaders during his first year in office, much of the media excoriated him — even though his statement was met with applause, and a subsequent poll showed a large majority of Democratic voters agreed with him. Michael Goodwin of the New York Daily News even wrote recently that Obama “is starting to get that last call feeling. He has to...

WASHINGTON -- It now looks like Sen. Larry Craig is going to leave office after all. His top spokesman said Thursday that Craig has just about dropped any idea of trying to complete his term, and that he is focused on helping Idaho send a new senator to Washington within a few weeks. (snip) Craig's situation came up in Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California both called for his reignation. "What I think is good about it is that he's taking responsibility in the sense of resigning from office, and...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #5 – Durham, New Hampshire 09/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread Viewers of Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate in Durham, N.H., should be sure to have their computers up and running early, as FOXNews.com offers special live streaming video before, during and after the event. The debate itself, to be aired on FOX News Channel and streamed on FOXNews.com, begins at 9 p.m. EDT (6 PDT). Moderated by Brit Hume Candidates participating... Sam Brownback Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo