comMITTed to Romney!

McCain’s Developing Florida Problem

Take a look at Carl Cameron’s latest post on the Fox News website, in which he acknowledges Mitt’s Florida surge and praises Mitt’s campaign. He’s not calling Mitt the winner yet, but acknowledges it’s quite possible given the surge in the polls and Mitt’s organization.

Here are a couple quotes:

Polls show Mitt Romney could win the Florida Primary. John McCain is under attack, much as he was in 99 and 00. Rudy Giuliani’s slide appears to have halted - so far there is no sign of an uptick out of third.

The timing may be perfect for Romney. His business experience is proving a great asset with the economy dominating much of the contest. He is a tireless, disciplined, smart campaigner. His aides and strategists are top notch. His policies eare fully developed. His rhetoric is tight. His Florida campaign is centered in the triangle between Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa where they expect about 57% of the GOP votes to be.

Romney in so many ways has done it the old fashioned way. Any successful candidate in a competitive race for office is going to initially need three things; Message, Money and Organization. Check.
When running for president add; get to Iowa and New Hampshire early and often, have a reasonable claim to your party’s political base in the early states, don’t be the early front-runner, take some risks, survive a few bad patches with a comeback, have dumb luck, then time your peaks for when people are in voting booths. Check, Check, Check, Check.

What about McCain? Carl acknowledges he’s having a hard time converting the Republican base, but doesn’t count him out (and we shouldn’t, either):

Now republicans coast to coast are unleashing on McCain: wrong on the Bush tax cuts, amnesty, campaign finance reform. He collaborates too often, they say, with Ted Kennedy et al. And for years in the senate they say he has been an unreliable republican, largely disliked for angry outbursts and bullying.

Wait. Because McCain is highly respected by the public his rivals are loath to attack hard. Enter the anti-McCain forces. They range from Rudy and Romney boosters to the uncommitted. The only common denominator is they appear to detest McCain. DO NOT rule McCain out. Seniors and veterans and retirees LOVE HIM. There is still some South Carolina wind in his sails. It is a tossup.

More on Mitt’s well-oiled campaign (emphasis added):

As for Governor Romney; Michigan fine tuned his economic message and its clicking in Florida. He has run a text book air war. Several months ago he began with bio ads. They evolved into issue ads. Those turned to contrast ads. Then back to bio ads and now closing arguments. No other candidate came close to such a well run campaign. When the message needed to evolve, it did. When he lost in Iowa and New Hampshire adjustments followed.

Sure he has probably spent more than $30 million of his own money but since when is personal wealth (and spending it) a problem among republicans?

In discussing Mitt’s alleged “flips,” Carl says the following (again emphasis added):

Sure he has flip-flopped on key GOP issues in the last five years, but his bent has been decidedly rightward and his rivals have plenty of policy deviations from GOP orthodoxy of their own.

Intrade’s latest

These numbers vary all the time, but as of a moment ago when I checked, Intrade had Mitt’s odds winning at twice those of McCain’s. A contract for Mitt to win Florida was at 60, while McCain at 30 (roughly 2:1 odds Mitt over Mac), where a 100 is the odds being 100% certain of a win. People out there are feeling the wave!

Keep it up folks, we still need to pull out ahead and there are only a few days left. And McCain, feeling the squeeze, is on the attack.

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“Mike Huckabee is the candidate that just keeps on giving!” [quote from Jeff Fuller just now after speaking with him]

Does Mr. Huckabee think we are all complete, utter idiots?

[Please forgive me for using the nickname "Duckabee" --- I depart from the normal decorum in this one instance as I believe the label best suits Huckabee as he continues to dodge truth --- I simply could not resist.]

KUDOS to Rusty, Ann Marie, and Mike for getting the Huckabee low-road story up so fast. Is this amazing, or what? Seriously, I think Huckabee woke up this morning and said to his wife,

“I think I want to become the first presidential candidate in the history of the Iowa caucuses to become a certifiable laughing stock of the media and the good folks of Iowa. What do you think darling? What is the best way for me to do that today?”

There are so many words that came to my mind after seeing all the reports today on this. I chose the title of this post from a line in Rusty’s post. Here are the words that came to my mind after watching all of these reports on Duckabee:

— CUNNING — INDECISIVE — MANIPULATIVE — CRAFTY — DISENGENUOUS — UNSOPHISTICATED — BACK-WATER — DISHONEST — CORRUPT — DECEITFUL — FRAUDULENT — DOUBLE-DEALING — UNPRINCIPLED — UNSCRUPULOUS — GUILE — TWO-FACED — DESPERATE (I could list the other 25 but want to keep this short)

Why the word “dishonest”? Simply because Duckabee absolutely knew that the State of Massachusetts, by law, does not allow capital punishment. Even if the guy feigns ignorance on this, he is inept at the very least. Governor Romney campaigned to add the death penalty in Mass.

The best moment of this day with Duck? When he said he made the (”high road”) decision to not run the ad but that he wanted to show it to the reporters so they supposedly would know he made the ad. He made that statement with a complete straight face as if he were serious. Then the entire audience burst out in complete spontaneous laughter and Duckabee stood there with a complete serious face. I totally expected him to burst into laughter himself. That was hilarious!

Carl Cameron, in one clip I saw, said this could end up as a genius move by Duck. If the people of Iowa don’t mind being played the fools by his camp, then maybe. There is a chance that Huckabee has attained “martyr” status in the minds of some in Iowa. If so, then there will be a sympathy following, but still I cannot imagine thinking people backing a person who touts his “Christian values” while his behavior is completely dishonest at best.

No, I think this will sink Huck’s life-raft. Iowans are not fools. Reporters of the MSM are not fools and I think they will turn on Huck. Until about two weeks ago, Huck has gotten a pass from the MSM. His presumptuous, manipulative, and cunning behavior to play all the reporters for fools will backfire. They will shred him in the next few days. Mark my words. It is over for Huckabee. He will get the martyr-sympathy vote, but that is it (credit to Jeff Fuller for this insight). Iowans are too smart to vote for this guy. I think we will see the media eat Huckabee alive over the next three plus days.

I wish I could be a fly on the wall in one of the Republican caucus meeting halls to hear the discussions among voters. Oh, how sweet it would be.

Here is how I would like the results to show three nights from now, in Iowa, on Thursday night:

— Romney: 44%
— Hunter: 18%
— Thompson: 9%
— Keyes: 8%
— Giuliani: 5%
— Paul: 5%
— McCain: 5%
— Tancredo: 4% (yes, he will still get votes)
— Duckabee: 2%

I gave Duckabee 4%, not because I think there are really dumb Iowans, but because I think 4% of the Republican voters of Iowa who liked Duckabee a month ago, will not have gotten the news from today.

IOWANS: Please remember that both Giuliani and McCain abandoned the Ames Straw Poll in August effectively telling you a) your straw poll does not matter, and b) we [McCain/Giuliani] don’t want you to have any of our campaign money for your economy.

~ Vic

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Huckabee must think that the American People, and with it the American Press are absolute idiots.

First off check out —>this post from earlier.

Continuing on this discussion, Fox News did some research on “The Huck’s” so called “facts”, and here is what they found (I’ve also included a photo of the chart mentioned in the post for visualization purposes).

Huckabee warned an Iowa crowd that 660 Pakistanis have come into the country illegally in the past year because of insecure borders. It was a new angle among the candidates reacting on the trail to the assassination Thursday of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

He also said: “We have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all of the other nationalities except those immediately south of the border. … In light of what’s happening in Pakistan it ought to give us pause.”

But his Pakistan statements don’t jibe with the data. Pressed by reporters where he got his figure, Huckabee initially said: “Those are numbers that I got today from a briefing and I believe they are CIA and or immigration numbers.”

Later, in a conference call with reporters, he identified the figure as coming from the Department of Homeland Security and news articles, including a March 2006 piece in The Denver Post.

Only that article said 660 Pakistanis entered the United States illegally between fiscal 2002 and 2005 – not just in one year. And Homeland Security figures for 2006 show that many more illegal immigrants came from India, Korea, China, the Philippines and Vietnam than Pakistan, which didn’t even make the chart.

See On The Chart How Pakistan Isn’t Even Listed?

Meanwhile, Huckabee on MSNBC talked about Pakistan’s “eastern borders near Afghanistan,” even though that border is on Pakistan’s western end.

And he suffered another gaffe Thursday when he said it’s too early to say whether martial law should “continue” in Pakistan, even though martial law was lifted two weeks ago.

Huckabee’s campaign later offered a statement saying “martial law in Pakistan, as a practical matter, should not be viewed as having been completely lifted until the restrictions imposed during that period on the press and judges are removed.”

Such comments could play into the hands of critics who say Huckabee’s light on foreign policy experience. Since recently admitting to reporters that he hadn’t heard about a major report on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Huckabee has sought to fight that accusation.

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The race is getting serious as evidenced by the head to head going on between Romney and Rudy in New Hampshire this weekend.

Here’s a link to Romney’s response to Giuliani’s attacks. I am always impressed that responses from Romney and his campaign are always measured, factual, and classy. Quite a contrast to the circus we see coming from Giuliani, the stand-up comedy we see coming from Huckabee, and the sarcasm from McCain. (I haven’t seen that much attacking come from Fred, but he hasn’t been campaigning as vigorously (ahem) as the others so far).

Romney supporters…fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to get nastier before it gets nicer. If you think about each of the early state battles coming up, Mitt is the only one in the mix across the board. Each of the others are not competitive in one or more of the states allowing them to focus on their “firewalls.”

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Jeff Fuller’s last two posts today (see below) refer to Mike Huckabee’s lie about the video of his public plea for higher taxes when he was governor. Also, he shows how a vote for Huckabee is a vote for pro-choice Giuliani and why Giuliani and team are rooting for Huckabee in the early states caucus and primaries.

So why this post on Huckabee? Jeff and others have pointed to the edited video clip that includes the TV commentary exposing the lie, but since it is edited, the excerpt of Huckabee pleading for any higher taxes is very short. The following, longer clip is worth watching a couple of times. Watch his face and listen to his voice inflection. Before clicking through to the video clip, consider my favorite quotes from this clip.

Referring to various tax types or possibilities, he says this:

” . . . if that ends up being your preference, I’m fine with that!”

When citing all the different types of possible taxes, he repeats this line several times:

“That’s fine!”

Also referring to passing any of the tax choices, he closes with:

” . . . you will have nothing but my profound thanks!”

The YouTube video clip of Governor Huckabee here is labeled BIG GOVERNMENT REPUBLICAN:

To go directly to the YouTube video clip, click here ——-> Complete Video Clip of Huckabee Begging for Any New Tax

Now, after watching Governor Huckabee virtually beg for new, higher taxes, watch this short, edited clip with the TV commentary to see why Huckabee’s lying is so damaging:

Click here ——–> Cameron Commentary on Fox News

I, along with other writers, received an email from Jeff Fuller late yesterday that I am including here with no edits (Jeff, I hope you will forgive me for not asking your permission first before posting your message) — [the bold emphasis is mine]:

Huckabee’s lying about this is a big issue. We’ll air it at Iowans for Romney.

However, what’s being lost in this exchange is potentially more damaging to Huckabee than his dishonesty . . . it’s his blatant fiscal liberalism.

Even if he was facing a “court-ordered $100 million funding of education” budget gap HIS IMMEDIATE AND KNEE-JERK REACTION WAS TO RAISE TAXES!!!

How about CUTTING SPENDING MIKE???!!! (or at the very least raise some fees and get creative without seeking new and permanent taxes).

Huckabee’s only solution to a $100 budget deficit was to raise taxes.

Romney faced a figure THIRTY TIMES THAT ($3 Billion) in the state budget deficit, but found a way to balance the budget WITHOUT RAISING ANY TAXES!!!

That’s the major difference between Mitt and Mike.

Let’s get the word out to the voters that a) Giuliani and team are rooting big time for Huckabee in Iowa and New Hampshire for all the reasons you can imagine, and b) that Huckabee is more than able and willing to raise taxes at the drop of the hat. Please pass along to your email distribution list, the URL to this post.

~ Vic

“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.”

— Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), American humorist (1818-1885)

[Because power corrupts] “Society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.”

— John Adams, American Founding Father and second U.S. president (1735-1826)

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From The Telegraph

Photo Courtesy of CNN

Trying to encourage his studio to hurry up so an interview could start, Carl Cameron of Fox News said into his microphone: “The next president of the United States has a schedule to keep.” Standing beside him, a deadpan Mr Thompson interjected: “And so do I.”

As some Thompson aides looked bemused and others cringed, a taken-aback Mr Cameron, Fox’s chief political correspondent, exclaimed: “You can’t do that kind of stuff!”

Oy………

He was lampooned mercilessly after a YouTube clip showing him asking an audience Iowa underwhelmed by his stump speech: “First of all, could I have a round of applause?”

Having entered the 2008 contest in September, more than six months after all his rivals, Mr Thompson, 65, has kept a light schedule, delivered rambling speeches and shown little fondness for the glad-handing and back-slapping that is the very stuff of US politics.

He was visiting New Hampshire yesterday for just the third time despite having said two months before that he would appear there “early and often”.

Oy…………..

Just before his Fox interview, Mr Thompson had given a long, meandering speech to a group of New Hampshire businessmen and state politicians.

When he entered the room there was barely a stir as people continued their conversations while he took his seat.

Once sitting down, Mr Thompson signalled to an aide for his glasses and then proceeded to write notes on a piece of paper, initially ignoring the hosts at his table for the “Politics and Eggs” forum in Bedford, New Hampshire – a must-do event for every candidate.

During a 20-minute, meandering speech, Mr Thompson – who has long been accused of being lazy - joked about rearranging his campaign schedule the previous evening so he could watch the New England Patriots play the Indianapolis Colts football game on television.

Oy……………..

“I also want you to know that I’ve got my priorities in order. When I saw yesterday that I was scheduled to catch a plane to leave at about four o’clock I did a little scrambling around and to make a long story short I saw to it that I got here at 11 o’clock.”

Many at the breakfast were dismayed by Mr Thompson’s performance.

“The American people like folks that have a positive, hopeful message,” said one prominent Republican.

“This felt very pessimistic. He doesn’t have the kind of fire and brimstone that excites people or gives them a reason to vote for him.”

Fergus Cullen, New Hampshire’s state Republican chairman, said Mr Thompson had made a big mistake in September when he opted to declare his candidacy on the “Jay Leno” talk show rather than attend a New Hampshire debate.

“He got off on the wrong foot here and he has been struggling to get onto the right foot ever since. He is still at the introducing himself stage of the campaign whereas most of the other candidates went through that six or 12 months ago.”

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From Carl Cameron at Fox…

So far, the Democratic presidential candidates debate shows just how unrealistic Hillary Clinton and her band of Democrats are when it comes to facing down the serious threats the nation faces in the world today.

The Democrats want to reduce our foreign policy and military posture to a garden party with just carrots and sticks, choosing empty rhetoric over any semblance of a detailed vision for safety and security. Governor Romney, on the contrary, firmly believes that America’s place in the world is defined by its strength and purpose, not carrots and sticks held by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

He doesn’t mince words, does he? He’s telling it just like it is. No holding back, just the way I like him to be.

Goooooooo Romney!

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