It is an unusual dynamic, to have the candidates placing second and third in most national opinion polls engaging one another fiercely, while allowing the front-runner a wide berth. But campaign officials and outside political consultants said that McCain's willingness to directly engage Romney appeared to stem from a combination of tactical, political, and, to a lesser extent, personal considerations.
Tactically, McCain and Romney are in direct competition because they have both invested enormous resources to compete in the early nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Giuliani, though, seems to be leaning toward competing more heavily in the large states, including California and New York, holding their primaries on Feb. 5. Several state-by-state polls have shown Romney gaining ground — even holding leads, in some — in Iowa and New Hampshire.....
On top of that, Romney and McCain are competing for conservative support....
Add to that the personal factor. McCain and Giuliani have something of a political friendship. Giuliani bucked much of New York's Republican establishment in 2000 when it tried to keep McCain off the primary ballot. The two men have taken in a number of ballgames together, not to mention meals in Little Italy.
May 23, 2007
Why is Giuliani able to sit back and watch McCain and Romney pummel each other?
Strange, no?
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This strikes me as a non-story. If Richardson and Obama duke it out on something, would HRC's thoughts on it be relevant? I suppose it's noteworthy that Giuliani knows to keep his big yapper shut and not wade into a Civil War between Republicans. That's a good trait to have, but won't almost all successful politicians share it?
So I guess the answer to the question why Giuliani can sit back and watch is because he knows better than to comment, and no one in the press is pressing for a comment.
No, it is not particularly strange. For the last fifty years, winning the conservative vote in the Republican primaries has meant winning the nomination - and there hasn't been one exception to this.
Both McCain and Romney figure each other as the primary threat in winning that vote - so we see what we now see.
I'm not convinced they're right though. The calendar has changed; one candidate yet declared casts a large shadow over those already in; all of the candidates have significant flaws from a conservative perspective, and with the more broadly distributed media, any of four major candidates (including F. Thompson) could win.
I think the race comes down to Giuliani and Thompson, with Romney probably beating out McCain for "threatening third" place, and Thompson edging Giuliani.
But I've been wrong before.
Is there any evidence that anyone anywhere has any enthusiasm for Giuliani, McCain, or Romney as president? Are there people [not interest groups] who are passionate supporters of these guys in the way that some are excited about Gore or even Ms. Clinton?
Is there any evidence that anyone anywhere has any enthusiasm for Giuliani, McCain, or Romney as president?
If there is I haven't seen any. I think you'll see some real excitement if Fred Thompson officially announces but until then, the current slate isn't blowing my skirt up.
Are there people [not interest groups] who are passionate supporters of these guys in the way that some are excited about Gore or even Ms. Clinton?
I think Gore's only excited supporters are interest groups, particularly the Green and Global Warming fanatics. I'm not sure any Dems are truly excited about Hillary. I have some die-hard Dem co-workers who loathe the idea of her running.
The only Dem who is generating any 'excitement' is Obama, that is if the media is to be believed.
Is there any evidence that anyone anywhere has any enthusiasm for Giuliani, McCain, or Romney as president?
Giuliani has a large number of fans among those of us who are hawkish but unconcerned with all the religious-right nonsense the Republican Party candidate always has to stump for. You don't hear from us much because we don't actually have a media outlet. Talk radio and Fox are dominated by social conservatives, and the rest of the media is leftist.
McCain and Romney? Eh... I guess somebody out there likes them. They're both married, right? So that's at least two fans, presumably.
Are there people [not interest groups] who are passionate supporters of these guys in the way that some are excited about Gore or even Ms. Clinton?
The news that someone out there is actually excited about Gore or Hillary comes as news to me. When did that happen?
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