ComMITTed to Romney!

Every once in a while you come accross some information and you find yourself doing a double-take and wondering if what you just read is true. That’s what happened to me just a few minutes ago when I read the updated polling numbers for South Carolina. A bump for Romney was to be expected, as he recently began purchasing advertising in South Carolina, but nothing prepared me for the numbers I saw today.

With just a few weeks of modest TV advertising, Romney has been able to elevate his numbers in the Palmetto State from 9% to 26% over last month’s numbers–and this is the first month of what many call the “regular season” of political campaigning. In other words, this is when it really counts.

Click here for the link.

Romney 26% (+17!!!!!)
Giuliani 23% (-3)
McCain 15% (+3)
Thompson 10% (-11)
Gingrich 7% (+1)
Paul 2% (+0)
Huckabee 1% (-8)

To top it off, it was also the first official month of the Fred Thompson campaign. Thompson is heavily favored in the South which makes his drop from 21% down to 10% that much more intriguing.

We all know that campaigns are a roller-coaster ride and I don’t expect Romney to win running away, but I do expect two major dynamics to come from this polling news. First, the attack dogs will come out from both the Republican rivals and from the Democratic National Committee. Expect to see Brownback in South Carolina making religious statements designed to hurt Romney. Secondly, a bump like this from moderate advertising in the state would translate into an explosion if Romney were to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. The positive press those wins would generate would have a huge impact on South Carolina and Romney may have the nomination locked up on Feb 5, if that is the case. Even if Romney drops back down into the teens in South Carolina over the next several months, this shows that a drastic change can occur in a short period of time here in the Palmetto State.

So for those of you who didn’t think that Romney stood a chance in South Carolina, perhaps now you would consider dropping a few dollars into the Romney campaign coffers to help continue getting the message out.

Click Here to donate!

I know this isn’t exactly Romney related, but man was I impressed with her. She has really grown up, and is making a difference in this world. It was really poignant to see her interacting with these poor Jamaican kids, you could tell that they touched her heart. She recently wrote a book about a girl “Ana” that talks about her life in Latin America with HIV. She worked as an intern with UNICEF working with these kids. I’m so glad to see some real positive press about her.

Book Link

Amazon Review

First Daughter Jenna Bush worked as an intern with UNICEF throughout Latin America, and in her first book, she focuses on the life of a young woman she befriended during her travels. Infected with HIV/AIDS at birth, Ana loses both parents to the disease. After suffering abuse at relatives’ homes, she finds a caring center for those living with HIV/AIDS, where she falls in love and eventually gets pregnant. Her child is born without the virus, and at the story’s close, Ana has found a peaceful home where she can plan a new life for herself and her baby. The pace is brisk: chapters are only a few pages long, and the accessible language and simple sentences will pull reluctant readers. A few jarring passages point to Bush’s outsider’s view (a comparison between Ana and “the exotic subjects in Gaugin’s Tahiti paintings” stands out), but the wrenching story, illustrated with a few photos, effectively sends an urgent message: too many children are unsafe and burdened by secrets. Classroom-ready resources include discussion questions and suggestions for volunteering. Engberg, Gillian

Fred, what are we missing with this little visit in Iowa? Is this how you impress the folks of Iowa? Snub them once, then snub them outside? What are we missing?

A presidential candidate who’s faced questions about his faith likely left a roomful of Iowans of faith with more questions.

Republican Fred Thompson stopped by the annual banquet of the Iowa Christian alliance in Clive last night.

The alliance is pushing for a federal amendment to ban same sex marriage.

Thompson has refused to say he’d push for the idea.

He’s also a twice-married man who admits he doesn’t usually go to church.

A Thompson staffer told us the candidate would answer questions outside the event so he wouldn’t disturb the dinner guests.

But when Thompson went outside, he got into his truck and drove away, without talking about his faith or any other topic

I am sure Mr. Thompson has an explanation. It will be interesting to hear it. Before he “officially” decided to run for president, he assured us all that he would have answers, so all the more perplexing to see him running from chances to provide answers. What better debate primer for a presidential candidate is there than a meeting with average American citizens? Do you think we will ever see the “Ask Fred Anything” meetings like those of Governor Romney? It sounds like Fred keeps his pick-up truck running to make these quick exits.

Is it no wonder that several of the Sunday news shows are beginning to marginalize Fred Thompson’s chances? Earlier this week in a comment left in one of our posts, I wrote that the polls are lagging indicators. As such, we will begin to see Fred Thompson’s national poll numbers falling in the next two weeks to reflect this last couple of weeks.

~ Vic

“The sickly, weakly, timid man fears the people, and is a Tory by nature. The healthy, strong and bold cherishes them, and is formed a Whig by nature.”

— Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823

“Another presidential candidate, upon learning of a reporter’s visit there, might jump on the opportunity to reminisce about the faith of his childhood, to trot out fond stories about his pastor and the inspirational lessons learned at his knee.”

Have you heard any other candidate react this way?

“But not Romney . Seated in a plane between campaign stops near the olive groves of northern California, Romney hears of such a visit and the wattage seeps out of his smile.
“In Pontiac?” he asks.
Yes, the reporter answers.
“Oh, yeah. Wow. I don’t know where that is,” Romney says.
It’s still a church, the reporter says.
“Oh, it is. Oh, interesting.”
Full stop. Never has a man so polished looked so uncomfortable.”

Jon and Lisa assumes that Romney has a problem. If reporters weren’t so arrogant, they might realize that they are the ones having problems. They are the ones that should be embarrassed for asking Romney questions that no other candidate has to answer.

“Nothing is more politically vexing or personally crucial for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney than the story of his faith. Raised in a devout Mormon family by parents who were both principled and powerful, Romney has downplayed both his religion and his own family history…”

When I took 3rd grade English, my teacher taught me that you shouldn’t make assertions, without giving DATA that supports those assertions. Jon and Lisa, have no idea what data is. They think they can call Romney’s parents “principled and powerful” without giving any reason to agree with them. They can just say it because gosh darn it, they are reporters and they can say what ever they want. Data is for nerds. Reasons to agree are for lawyers. They don’t need to explain their conclusion, this is journalism!
I want some data. Journalist just make crud up. Like saying that Romney has downplayed his family. What other candidate has spoken more about their family?  

They just say stupid stuff like this without giving any evidence to prove that it is true. How has Romney “downplayed both his religion and his own family history”? What other candidates have spoken more about their religion ? They say the stupidest stuff! Rudy doesn’t talk about his religion more than Romney. Hillary doesn’t talk about her religion more than Romney. Newt doesn’t talk about his religion more than Romney. McCain doesn’t talk about the specifics of his religion more than Romney. And Fred Thompson doesn’t talk about his religion more than Romney. No one talks about their family more than Romney. These people say stuff that is not true. Why does anyone read it? These punks at newsweek just make stuff up about how Mitt Romney downplays his religion , and his family! How can reporters who get paid for putting their words on paper say such stupid things?

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In Hugh Hewitt’s book, A Mormon in the White House?, he mentions a concern evangelical Christians will likely have with a “President Romney.” He thinks that once evangelical Christians seriously consider this “objection”, they will realize it is a non-issue. This concern manifested itself this week (9/26/07) in the ChritianityToday magazine and interview they conducted with Governor Romney. This was posted by Mike Laub in this blog. I thought Governor Romney’s answer to this question was not only masterful, it was substantive:

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler has said that he worries a Romney presidency would bring greater credibility to Mormonism and harm evangelical missions. How would you encourage him to vote for you?

“I hope everyone votes for the person they think can be the best leader for America. Each person is entitled to make his or her assessment. But I would note that my church is very demanding in terms of the requirements it places on people who join. It requires tithing 10 percent of gross income; abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea; and [chastity] before and [fidelity] after marriage. I doubt very seriously anyone in the world is going to join my church simply because they see a leader who is a member of it.

Even though I was governor of Massachusetts for four years, our chapel did not swell with supporters who wanted to join my church. Joining a faith is a far more serious matter than choosing something fashionable.”

I agree with Hugh Hewitt, that this objection of evangelical Christians is a non-issue really. Governor Romney concisely put to rest that issue with his answer above.

~ Vic

I will comment later on the piece, as I have not read it completely yet. But, I wanted to get the link out so that all of you can read it Mitt’s Mission

What’s your Analysis, Commentary, and Editorial? The Comments Section awaits!

Addendum:

There’s also a Q&A session.

H/T Nealie Ride over at nyformitt.blogspot.com

A new Iowa poll was conducted by Newsweek. Romney is still holding strong in the hawkeye state.
Check out the results here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21036143/site/newsweek/

In other news, Newt Gingrich will not run for President in 2008. It appears he does not want to give up the chairmanship to the American Solutions group he founded.
More info here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21047953/

Enjoy,
Nathan W.

This post does not mention Gov. Romney. I am including this article for these reasons.:

1. It is outstanding,
2. It encapsulates well the the overall picture in Iraq, from beginning of the war to present,
3. It is essential reading in understanding the dynamics involved in Iraq, and
4. It helps us to understand what Gov. Romney knows and faces as President.

Click —->  The Hearts and Minds of Those in Iraq

~ Vic