Returning to the exact same spot he occupied eight years ago, Arizona Senator John McCain claimed victory in last night’s “first in the nation” New Hampshire Primary. Relying heavily on his “straight talk” and ability to connect with the last-minute voters in the Granite State, McCain catapulted his campaign towards the top of the Republican field with 37% of the vote verses former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 32%.
Addressing a crowded ballroom of supporters, McCain congratulated all candidates both Republican and Democrat as well as their supporters. “You stood up for what you believe in” McCain said “and I commend you for that.”
McCain now joins Romney and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as those with victories so far in 2008 and sets up what will be a hotly contested January and February on the Republican side. Michigan will be the next stop for the Republicans and there McCain and Huckabee are battling for first and Romney is third in the state where his father, George Romney, served as a three-time governor.
But as for Tuesday the night was McCain’s and the 71-year-old will now have to take the momentum he was unsuccessful in harnessing from his 2000 victory in New Hampshire and direct it towards future success in 2008.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Heart Tops Change in New Hampshire
In one of the bigger political upsets in recent memory, Hillary Clinton, facing predictions of a defeat that some predicted would reach double-digits and cripple her 2008 chances, soared back to the top of the Democratic standings last night with a hard-fought victory over Illinois Senator Barack Obama. The Clinton victory, 40%-36%, over Obama breathed necessary life into the New York senator’s campaign and allows her to remain in a neck-and-neck battle with Obama for her party’s nomination.
Brandishing herself as the candidate with “heart,” Clinton carved her way to victory beginning with a Saturday night debate performance that saw her alternate between a candidate willing to attack those labeling her as the “status quo” and one willing to admit somewhat jokingly that her feelings were hurt when she was labeled as unlikable. This performance combined with a Monday speech that saw Clinton’s emotions bring her to the brink of tears seemed to be the fuel that energized Clinton to victory in New Hampshire.
Clinton is likely to continue championing herself as the candidate with “heart” while Obama continues to define himself as the candidate most willing to embrace “change.” The emails each candidate sent today reflect these themes with Clinton’s subject of “thank you from the bottom of my heart” and Obama’s attempting to emphasize the difficulty in creating change by stating “we knew this would be hard.”
Finishing in his familiar third place position, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards lagged far behind Clinton and Obama with only 17% of the Granite State electorate. Vowing to stay in the race, Edwards enthusiastically told supporters “we’re in this until the convention.”
Not withstanding next week’s Michigan Primary, The focus of the Democrats seems to have shifted towards the January 19 Nevada Primary and the South Carolina Primary to be held one week later. Michigan is caught in a battle with the Democratic National Committee over deciding to move their primary forward and ahead of traditional front-of-the-line deciders such as South Carolina. Because of this, the DNC is threatening to strip Michigan of some of its convention delegates. This threat is keeping most of the Democrats public attention away from Michigan.
Brandishing herself as the candidate with “heart,” Clinton carved her way to victory beginning with a Saturday night debate performance that saw her alternate between a candidate willing to attack those labeling her as the “status quo” and one willing to admit somewhat jokingly that her feelings were hurt when she was labeled as unlikable. This performance combined with a Monday speech that saw Clinton’s emotions bring her to the brink of tears seemed to be the fuel that energized Clinton to victory in New Hampshire.
Clinton is likely to continue championing herself as the candidate with “heart” while Obama continues to define himself as the candidate most willing to embrace “change.” The emails each candidate sent today reflect these themes with Clinton’s subject of “thank you from the bottom of my heart” and Obama’s attempting to emphasize the difficulty in creating change by stating “we knew this would be hard.”
Finishing in his familiar third place position, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards lagged far behind Clinton and Obama with only 17% of the Granite State electorate. Vowing to stay in the race, Edwards enthusiastically told supporters “we’re in this until the convention.”
Not withstanding next week’s Michigan Primary, The focus of the Democrats seems to have shifted towards the January 19 Nevada Primary and the South Carolina Primary to be held one week later. Michigan is caught in a battle with the Democratic National Committee over deciding to move their primary forward and ahead of traditional front-of-the-line deciders such as South Carolina. Because of this, the DNC is threatening to strip Michigan of some of its convention delegates. This threat is keeping most of the Democrats public attention away from Michigan.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Food for Thought: Part I
I have always marveled at the power of quotes. Quotes have always had the ability to help me to either open my thinking into a new way of looking at the situation or conversely sharpen previously held beliefs with a new perspective.
With this in mind, I launch the first in an occasional series of quotes that will follow with questions that relate to the 2008 election and beyond.
”My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The ’80’s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don’t know who will lead us through the ’90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.” Lee Atwater, 1991.
Today brings with it the “first in the nation” New Hampshire primary that is likely to have the single greatest impact that any event has had yet so far in the 2008 election cycle. And while it is unlikely that anyone reading this will have the opportunity to vote in New Hampshire nor the time to campaign for a candidate before the polls close tonight, we will each have the opportunity to make our mark in this election before it is all said and done.
Each generation brings with it unique challenges and opportunities that will require genuine leadership in order to face the former and make the most of the latter. While this is neither the time nor place for a specific endorsement, it is always timely for each of us to give thought to what exactly we hope to find in our next president.
I propose to each of you as a frame for such thought the above quote by former Republican and Reagan and Bush era strategist, Lee Atwater. Atwater who nearing death converted to Catholicism gave this quote from his deathbed. Atwater’s main assertion in the quote is that as the 1990’s began there was a “spiritual vacuum” in America.
Whether you agree with Atwater’s assertion or not, two questions can be used by any of us in relation to this quote to magnify who exactly we feel will bring the most to the position of commander and chief. Atwater asserts that the 1980’s were about “acquiring” and the 1990’s were about curing America’s “spiritual vacuum.” Before you decide which candidate you will vote for, I recommend you define exactly what it is that you believe our nation faces as its greatest problem in 2008. Once you have determined that singular problem then decide which candidate you feel is best to address this.
I extend to you the further question of which candidate may have the ability to envision the problem before it happens instead of Atwater’s late realization. And which candidate’s experience makes them best positioned to not only envision this problem but communicate it to the public and execute its solution.
It is my hope and also my opinion that the completion of these exercises will go a long way in making your decision in 2008.
With this in mind, I launch the first in an occasional series of quotes that will follow with questions that relate to the 2008 election and beyond.
”My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The ’80’s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don’t know who will lead us through the ’90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.” Lee Atwater, 1991.
Today brings with it the “first in the nation” New Hampshire primary that is likely to have the single greatest impact that any event has had yet so far in the 2008 election cycle. And while it is unlikely that anyone reading this will have the opportunity to vote in New Hampshire nor the time to campaign for a candidate before the polls close tonight, we will each have the opportunity to make our mark in this election before it is all said and done.
Each generation brings with it unique challenges and opportunities that will require genuine leadership in order to face the former and make the most of the latter. While this is neither the time nor place for a specific endorsement, it is always timely for each of us to give thought to what exactly we hope to find in our next president.
I propose to each of you as a frame for such thought the above quote by former Republican and Reagan and Bush era strategist, Lee Atwater. Atwater who nearing death converted to Catholicism gave this quote from his deathbed. Atwater’s main assertion in the quote is that as the 1990’s began there was a “spiritual vacuum” in America.
Whether you agree with Atwater’s assertion or not, two questions can be used by any of us in relation to this quote to magnify who exactly we feel will bring the most to the position of commander and chief. Atwater asserts that the 1980’s were about “acquiring” and the 1990’s were about curing America’s “spiritual vacuum.” Before you decide which candidate you will vote for, I recommend you define exactly what it is that you believe our nation faces as its greatest problem in 2008. Once you have determined that singular problem then decide which candidate you feel is best to address this.
I extend to you the further question of which candidate may have the ability to envision the problem before it happens instead of Atwater’s late realization. And which candidate’s experience makes them best positioned to not only envision this problem but communicate it to the public and execute its solution.
It is my hope and also my opinion that the completion of these exercises will go a long way in making your decision in 2008.
Monday, January 7, 2008
New Hampshire Predictions: Ringing in Both the New and the Old in the Granite State
The wave of momentum Barack Obama road out of Iowa on shows no signs of stopping. Even with a less-than-impressive performance in Saturday’s ABC-Facebook sponsored debate, Obama continues to excite and thrill audiences alike with his call for change and refusal to get mixed up in political wrangling. This rising swell of popularity will push Obama to a double-digit victory over Clinton that could swell to as much as fifteen points in New Hampshire's "first in the nation" primary.
While it is always foolish to count a Clinton out, especially in New Hampshire the place Bill was labeled “the comeback kid,” Obama’s momentum seems too strong for Hillary and will likely leave her like her husband Bill was in 1992, in second place.
With a defeat, Clinton will be forced to seriously reassess her fledgling campaign and begin to scrap together a plan to remain viable. She will likely look past South Carolina where the overwhelming number of black voters combined with Obama’s ever-growing serge of popularity will make him the clear front-runner there. Clinton’s best and perhaps last hope may lie in the one-two-combination of Florida’s January 29 primary followed by the all-important Super Tuesday primaries of February 5.
John Edwards continues to hang around like that one last person refusing to leave your holiday party. Clearly Edwards was invited by his 2004 performance and his early fundraising but his welcome and more so his chances of victory grow less and less by the minute. Edwards’s renewed energy has been apparent in the minutes immediately following Iowa straight on through his weekend appearances in New Hampshire; however, after finishing seven points off the lead in Iowa look for that margin to at least double in New Hampshire.
On the Republican side look for Arizona Senator John McCain to claim his first victory of 2008 by a margin of somewhere in the range of five to ten points. McCain’s likely victory will position himself and Huckabee as the two front-runners in the national race and further serve to push Mitt Romney farther down the political ladder. The margin of McCain’s victory and whether Huckabee can crack the top three in New Hampshire should tell us a lot as the campaign shifts its focus south towards South Carolina.
Mitt Romney, barring a last minute catastrophe, should claim the silver medal in the Granite state. A second place finish for Romney in New Hampshire does not do much to reenergize Romney’s sinking campaign but if he is to let Huckabee slip ahead of him in New Hampshire Romney may never find his name ahead of Huckabee’s for the duration of the race.
Governor Mike Huckabee can’t really put too much faith in a victory in New Hampshire; however, the position he finishes in and the margin of victory between him and those ahead of him may give him some added muscle heading to South Carolina. Second place should be Huckabee’s goal and if he’s left with the silver medal Huckabee should consider himself a winner.
In terms of other GOP hopefuls, Mayor Rudy Giuliani would consider it a success for him to finish in the top four in New Hampshire. Giuliani’s front-runner status has been stripped from him and he’s putting all of his stock in a Nixon-like “secret plan” to pile up victories in late January and early February.
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson much like his southern, ex-senator, Democratic, counter-part, John Edwards remains in the race hoping for something or someone to break allowing him once again to climb a top the polls. A third place finish in Iowa put a pulse back in Thomson’s campaign; however, it still is in need of constant monitoring to see when it might give its last breath. A victory for Thompson would find himself on the medal stand in New Hampshire claiming one of the top three spots. If Thompson was to finish fifth or worse he may need to ready once again his withdrawal speech and endorsement of John McCain.
While it is always foolish to count a Clinton out, especially in New Hampshire the place Bill was labeled “the comeback kid,” Obama’s momentum seems too strong for Hillary and will likely leave her like her husband Bill was in 1992, in second place.
With a defeat, Clinton will be forced to seriously reassess her fledgling campaign and begin to scrap together a plan to remain viable. She will likely look past South Carolina where the overwhelming number of black voters combined with Obama’s ever-growing serge of popularity will make him the clear front-runner there. Clinton’s best and perhaps last hope may lie in the one-two-combination of Florida’s January 29 primary followed by the all-important Super Tuesday primaries of February 5.
John Edwards continues to hang around like that one last person refusing to leave your holiday party. Clearly Edwards was invited by his 2004 performance and his early fundraising but his welcome and more so his chances of victory grow less and less by the minute. Edwards’s renewed energy has been apparent in the minutes immediately following Iowa straight on through his weekend appearances in New Hampshire; however, after finishing seven points off the lead in Iowa look for that margin to at least double in New Hampshire.
On the Republican side look for Arizona Senator John McCain to claim his first victory of 2008 by a margin of somewhere in the range of five to ten points. McCain’s likely victory will position himself and Huckabee as the two front-runners in the national race and further serve to push Mitt Romney farther down the political ladder. The margin of McCain’s victory and whether Huckabee can crack the top three in New Hampshire should tell us a lot as the campaign shifts its focus south towards South Carolina.
Mitt Romney, barring a last minute catastrophe, should claim the silver medal in the Granite state. A second place finish for Romney in New Hampshire does not do much to reenergize Romney’s sinking campaign but if he is to let Huckabee slip ahead of him in New Hampshire Romney may never find his name ahead of Huckabee’s for the duration of the race.
Governor Mike Huckabee can’t really put too much faith in a victory in New Hampshire; however, the position he finishes in and the margin of victory between him and those ahead of him may give him some added muscle heading to South Carolina. Second place should be Huckabee’s goal and if he’s left with the silver medal Huckabee should consider himself a winner.
In terms of other GOP hopefuls, Mayor Rudy Giuliani would consider it a success for him to finish in the top four in New Hampshire. Giuliani’s front-runner status has been stripped from him and he’s putting all of his stock in a Nixon-like “secret plan” to pile up victories in late January and early February.
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson much like his southern, ex-senator, Democratic, counter-part, John Edwards remains in the race hoping for something or someone to break allowing him once again to climb a top the polls. A third place finish in Iowa put a pulse back in Thomson’s campaign; however, it still is in need of constant monitoring to see when it might give its last breath. A victory for Thompson would find himself on the medal stand in New Hampshire claiming one of the top three spots. If Thompson was to finish fifth or worse he may need to ready once again his withdrawal speech and endorsement of John McCain.
BCS Prediction: Tigers Won't Be Tamed
Prediction: LSU 20, Ohio State 14
When the LSU Tigers take the field tonight in New Orleans against the Ohio State Buckeyes much will be at stake. Appearing in the BCS National Championship game for the second time in consecutive years, the Buckeyes will be trying to prove that their humiliating defeat to fellow SEC opponent Florida last year was the exception, not the rule. LSU on the other hand, has not tasted the national championship in four years, and will be looking to send its 25 seniors out on top.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has the clear experience advantage over LSU head man Les Miles as the two teams head into play. Tressel, coach of the 2002 national champion Buckeye's squad, has had much success in January and adds to his championship a convincing BCS Bowl resume that includes victories over Miami and Notre Dame. The glaring weakness on his BCS resume is last year’s debacle against Florida. For Miles, tonight’s game will be his first step on to the national championship stage; however, Miles, like Tressel, possesses a BCS victory over the Irish, his coming last year.
The game will likely come down to a match up between the stingy defense of Ohio State which leads the country in points allowed per game, allowing only a paltry 10.7 points per game and the veteran leadership of LSU’s offense. The defense is led by junior linebacker, Jim Laurinaitis, an All-American and recipient of the Butkus award, given to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker. The defense is also anchored by a fellow All-American, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who will attempt to keep up with the Tiger’s speed on offense.
It will likely be this same speed of LSU that will continue to frustrate the Buckeyes as the game goes on. Matt Flynn, the veteran play caller for LSU, has at his disposal an assortment of offensive options. Add to this LSU’s talented defensive unit led by All-American Glenn Dorsey and the Tiger’s bite will simply be too much for Ohio State.
Neither team is that much better than the other. The game will be a low scoring affair that should stay competitive right up until the last whistle. Because of this it would be unwarranted to predict a blowout; however, the SEC’s ability to produce superior speed and athleticism will be enough for LSU to win the game and throw the last and biggest party of the college football year close to home on Bourbon St.
When the LSU Tigers take the field tonight in New Orleans against the Ohio State Buckeyes much will be at stake. Appearing in the BCS National Championship game for the second time in consecutive years, the Buckeyes will be trying to prove that their humiliating defeat to fellow SEC opponent Florida last year was the exception, not the rule. LSU on the other hand, has not tasted the national championship in four years, and will be looking to send its 25 seniors out on top.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has the clear experience advantage over LSU head man Les Miles as the two teams head into play. Tressel, coach of the 2002 national champion Buckeye's squad, has had much success in January and adds to his championship a convincing BCS Bowl resume that includes victories over Miami and Notre Dame. The glaring weakness on his BCS resume is last year’s debacle against Florida. For Miles, tonight’s game will be his first step on to the national championship stage; however, Miles, like Tressel, possesses a BCS victory over the Irish, his coming last year.
The game will likely come down to a match up between the stingy defense of Ohio State which leads the country in points allowed per game, allowing only a paltry 10.7 points per game and the veteran leadership of LSU’s offense. The defense is led by junior linebacker, Jim Laurinaitis, an All-American and recipient of the Butkus award, given to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker. The defense is also anchored by a fellow All-American, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who will attempt to keep up with the Tiger’s speed on offense.
It will likely be this same speed of LSU that will continue to frustrate the Buckeyes as the game goes on. Matt Flynn, the veteran play caller for LSU, has at his disposal an assortment of offensive options. Add to this LSU’s talented defensive unit led by All-American Glenn Dorsey and the Tiger’s bite will simply be too much for Ohio State.
Neither team is that much better than the other. The game will be a low scoring affair that should stay competitive right up until the last whistle. Because of this it would be unwarranted to predict a blowout; however, the SEC’s ability to produce superior speed and athleticism will be enough for LSU to win the game and throw the last and biggest party of the college football year close to home on Bourbon St.
Thoughts From a Wild Weekend
Here are some thoughts from the NFL’s Wild Card weekend that saw the number of those with championship dreams cut from twelve to eight after the completion of four opening round games.
Watching Walpole High’s Todd Collins do battle with former Xaverian high school stand-out Matt Hasselbeck, I was immediately brought back to a Saturday night in September of 1994 where I saw Collins lead the Michigan Wolverines to a hardy victory over Hasselbeck and his Boston College Eagles. While then Collins was the proven starter and Hasselbeck was a back-up who reserved his passes for the occasional fake field goal , these roles have reversed with Hasselbeck, the younger but more experienced starter, leading his Seahawks to a 35-14 victory over Collins, the until recently, seldom-used, veteran quarterback.
The Redskins defeat brought to an end a story-book end to the season of both Collins and the Redskins that saw them win four straight games to qualify for the post season on the last weekend of the regular season.
This weekend also brought front and center the fact that the Seahawks are now led by Hasselbeck and no longer former league MVP Sean Alexander. Hasselbeck’s poise in the pocket and ability to throw to all areas of the field will make Hasselbeck a difficult challenge for Packers coaches to defend this coming weekend.
The real question coming out of Saturday night’s match up between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers is which offensive unit is the real Jaguars offense? Is it the effective offensive unit that displayed the ability to throw and run both during the first half and late drives in the forth quarter? Or is it the dismal sputtering unit that looked ineffective for most of the second half? The answer to this question will go a long way to determine whether or how much the Patriots win by on Saturday night.
For all those inclined to debate the merits of Eli Manning against his brother Peyton, Sunday served as a good measuring stick to use while examining this debate. While it will be difficult, some might say impossible, for Eli to top the record-breaking career of brother, Peyton, Eli took a small step towards earning the playoff stripes that have only come recently to older brother. Eli, pressured intensely throughout the first half, managed to keep his head in the game and make short range, precise, passes that ushered the Giants to victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday afternoon. Eli’s victory will help to further the merits of the selected few who predict similar career success for Peyton’s younger brother. Like most things in life, the answer to whether Eli will ever match or surpass his brother probably lies somewhere in the middle. What is unquestionable, however, is that it will take a Peyton-like performance of 2007 on Eli’s part to defeat the Cowboys this weekend in Dallas.
It was also apparent Sunday afternoon how difficult it must be for San Diego fans to foster realistic Super Bowl dreams in 2008. Gone is the home field advantage of 2007 which would have only required the Chargers to leave tropical Southern California to play in the Super Bowl. And in its place stairs directly in the face of the Chargers a date this weekend against the defending champion Colts and a potential trip to play the Patriots in Foxboro in the AFC Championship game. If Norv Turner and the bolts can pull this off than they will be truly worthy of the title champion.
Watching Walpole High’s Todd Collins do battle with former Xaverian high school stand-out Matt Hasselbeck, I was immediately brought back to a Saturday night in September of 1994 where I saw Collins lead the Michigan Wolverines to a hardy victory over Hasselbeck and his Boston College Eagles. While then Collins was the proven starter and Hasselbeck was a back-up who reserved his passes for the occasional fake field goal , these roles have reversed with Hasselbeck, the younger but more experienced starter, leading his Seahawks to a 35-14 victory over Collins, the until recently, seldom-used, veteran quarterback.
The Redskins defeat brought to an end a story-book end to the season of both Collins and the Redskins that saw them win four straight games to qualify for the post season on the last weekend of the regular season.
This weekend also brought front and center the fact that the Seahawks are now led by Hasselbeck and no longer former league MVP Sean Alexander. Hasselbeck’s poise in the pocket and ability to throw to all areas of the field will make Hasselbeck a difficult challenge for Packers coaches to defend this coming weekend.
The real question coming out of Saturday night’s match up between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers is which offensive unit is the real Jaguars offense? Is it the effective offensive unit that displayed the ability to throw and run both during the first half and late drives in the forth quarter? Or is it the dismal sputtering unit that looked ineffective for most of the second half? The answer to this question will go a long way to determine whether or how much the Patriots win by on Saturday night.
For all those inclined to debate the merits of Eli Manning against his brother Peyton, Sunday served as a good measuring stick to use while examining this debate. While it will be difficult, some might say impossible, for Eli to top the record-breaking career of brother, Peyton, Eli took a small step towards earning the playoff stripes that have only come recently to older brother. Eli, pressured intensely throughout the first half, managed to keep his head in the game and make short range, precise, passes that ushered the Giants to victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday afternoon. Eli’s victory will help to further the merits of the selected few who predict similar career success for Peyton’s younger brother. Like most things in life, the answer to whether Eli will ever match or surpass his brother probably lies somewhere in the middle. What is unquestionable, however, is that it will take a Peyton-like performance of 2007 on Eli’s part to defeat the Cowboys this weekend in Dallas.
It was also apparent Sunday afternoon how difficult it must be for San Diego fans to foster realistic Super Bowl dreams in 2008. Gone is the home field advantage of 2007 which would have only required the Chargers to leave tropical Southern California to play in the Super Bowl. And in its place stairs directly in the face of the Chargers a date this weekend against the defending champion Colts and a potential trip to play the Patriots in Foxboro in the AFC Championship game. If Norv Turner and the bolts can pull this off than they will be truly worthy of the title champion.
The Republican Rematch in New Hampshire
For the second time in two nights, Republican presidential hopefuls took the stage last night in New Hampshire. The tone of last night’s debate was equally aggressive, however, its focus Sunday shifted away from one that seemed to exclusively focus on diminishing the hopes of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in a tag team effort towards a one-for-all and all-for-one last pitch to woo undecided voters.
Mitt Romney, while not escaping completely the attacks of his competition, seemed more ready Sunday to fight back and handle the swipes of his competitors. Sticking to his belief that the campaign should rest on issues and not personal attacks, Romney is now trying to embrace Iowa’s singular call for change by brandishing himself as the Washington outsider most likely to implement change. With the polls reflecting a gain by Senator John McCain over the weekend, Romney must do all he can between now and the close of polls Tuesday to convince the Granite state electorate he is their candidate.
Whereas Saturday night’s debate left Romney seeming helpless against the bullying attacks of his competition, Sunday allowed him to display his trademark cool and if not gain momentum going into Tuesday hopefully stop the bleeding that his fledgling campaign has displayed ever since the days leading up to Iowa.
Sunday’s Fox News debate is unlikely to have as much impact on New Hampshire voters as the previous night’s ABC and Facebook sponsored debate was for a few reasons. First, the casual voter wanting to invest their time wisely would have likely opted to tune in for Saturday’s Republican and Democratic double-header that saw each set of candidates debate for one and one half hour intervals one after the other. Secondly, the Sunday news cycle is a brisk one this time of year with the networks going head-to-head with their talk shows including NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week, and CBS’s Face the Nation. Saturday’s debate was discussed at length in all of these talk shows and as a result of its occurring at night Fox’s debate will be left for the less fertile political grounds of ABC’s Good Morning America or NBC’s Today Show.
Finally, Fox News is unlikely to draw in as many independent voters as ABC was likely to have and it might be just this undecided, independent, portion of the electorate that may swing New Hampshire.
What this means is that Romney’s improved Sunday debate performance may not have the ability to overcome the damage that was done to him Saturday night. Senator John McCain is leading in most New Hampshire polls and Governor Mike Huckabee is even cutting into Romney’s numbers as Huckabee tries to make a long-shot attempt at second or third place in New Hampshire. Even withstanding Romney’s little discussed victory in Saturday’s Wyoming Caucus he must either win or have a strong, close, second place finish in New Hampshire to have the momentum to have any success in later states.
All the signs point against a Romney victory Tuesday; it is now up to him to do what he can between now and Tuesday night to prove the pundits wrong.
Mitt Romney, while not escaping completely the attacks of his competition, seemed more ready Sunday to fight back and handle the swipes of his competitors. Sticking to his belief that the campaign should rest on issues and not personal attacks, Romney is now trying to embrace Iowa’s singular call for change by brandishing himself as the Washington outsider most likely to implement change. With the polls reflecting a gain by Senator John McCain over the weekend, Romney must do all he can between now and the close of polls Tuesday to convince the Granite state electorate he is their candidate.
Whereas Saturday night’s debate left Romney seeming helpless against the bullying attacks of his competition, Sunday allowed him to display his trademark cool and if not gain momentum going into Tuesday hopefully stop the bleeding that his fledgling campaign has displayed ever since the days leading up to Iowa.
Sunday’s Fox News debate is unlikely to have as much impact on New Hampshire voters as the previous night’s ABC and Facebook sponsored debate was for a few reasons. First, the casual voter wanting to invest their time wisely would have likely opted to tune in for Saturday’s Republican and Democratic double-header that saw each set of candidates debate for one and one half hour intervals one after the other. Secondly, the Sunday news cycle is a brisk one this time of year with the networks going head-to-head with their talk shows including NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week, and CBS’s Face the Nation. Saturday’s debate was discussed at length in all of these talk shows and as a result of its occurring at night Fox’s debate will be left for the less fertile political grounds of ABC’s Good Morning America or NBC’s Today Show.
Finally, Fox News is unlikely to draw in as many independent voters as ABC was likely to have and it might be just this undecided, independent, portion of the electorate that may swing New Hampshire.
What this means is that Romney’s improved Sunday debate performance may not have the ability to overcome the damage that was done to him Saturday night. Senator John McCain is leading in most New Hampshire polls and Governor Mike Huckabee is even cutting into Romney’s numbers as Huckabee tries to make a long-shot attempt at second or third place in New Hampshire. Even withstanding Romney’s little discussed victory in Saturday’s Wyoming Caucus he must either win or have a strong, close, second place finish in New Hampshire to have the momentum to have any success in later states.
All the signs point against a Romney victory Tuesday; it is now up to him to do what he can between now and Tuesday night to prove the pundits wrong.
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