Look out Democrats...

On the front page of today's New York Times there was a huge article about Senator McCain's campaign and how they have downplayed the fact that McCain's youngest son, Jimmy McCain, is a Lance Corporal who enlisted at just 17 into the Marine Corps. I recommend that everyone read the article because it is really interesting to see this side of McCain - the concerned father of a soldier. It certainly made an impact on me since McCain is currently the only candidate advocating that we stay in Iraq to attempt to finish what we started; his opinions and feelings on the subject are not only rooted from his own experiences in Vietnam, but also because he was able to visit his son in Iraq and see for himself the strides that were being made. Granted, he visited in a period of relative calm, but speaking to the soldiers firsthand has made him firm in his belief that we need to stay overseas much longer than his opponents are predicting.

The Times notes that both the McCain family and campaign did not want this article to run. Indeed, the campaign has not wanted to exploit Jimmy McCain, the McCains' strongest tie to the war, and so has purposefully attempted to keep his service somewhat of a non-issue. I find this to be highly admirable, and while it irks me that the Times ran the article against McCain's wishes, I also am now shaking in my Democratic boots. I've tended to disregard the sentiment that McCain had any chance of winning the Presidency, simple because the Democrats have such strong candidates this election. Furthermore, the entire American populace has become jaded with Republicans running our nation. On the other hand, this article juxtaposes the catfights that are occurring in the Democratic camps with the calm and confidence that is now circling the Republican nomination and I have to admit, with all of the controversy and immaturity that is expected to erupt during the DNC, I can now see McCain emerging as the top candidate.

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html

Obama's Patriotism

The Republican Party has already started taking shots at Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who has recently received focus of possibly achieving the frontrunner status after sweeping the month of February primaries and caucuses. The most recent point of attack surrounds Obama's patriotism, following his wife, Michelle Obama's comment about being really proud of the United States. In addition, Obama has been criticized for not wearing an American flag pin during his campaign and that he was once seen without his hand on his heart during the national anthem. Obama's response to the reporter who questioned him on he topic included that this was simply the next effort to bring him negative press. He triumphed when he recalled:

"You will recall that the reason I came to national attention was a speech in which I spoke of my love of this country."

He furthered explained his wife's comment, clarifying that it was in regards to the turnout throughout the elections. He addressed the hand over his heart as something that three-quarters of people at sporting events do not cover their heart, and he added that wearing a pin should have nothing to with patriotism as the Republicans has decided it should. All in all, he did a very good job at defending himself and his patriotism, again quickly putting an end to any bad press that his campaign receives. He seems to handle take any bad press and turn it into positive, free airtime.




Information from this blog was found on CNN @ http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/24/obama.patriotism/index.html

Huckabee, didn't you know that two makes a crowd?

It seems as though Huckabee just won't go away. If you do the math, McCain is the next Republican presidential nominee, and yet Huckabee isn't going anywhere. He acts as though he is the underdog for whom everyone is rooting and will win the race in the end. He enjoys the popularity and the publicity, and that is why he refuses to step down and graciously concede defeat during this primary season.

This is a problem for the Republicans because now that there is a clear front-runner, the Republicans should take this time to unite and begin concentrating on the general election while Hillary and Obama are still scrambling for votes and focusing on each other.

Huckabee should realize that this election is bigger that his personal campaign. His loyalties should lie with the Republican Party and what is best for the future of the Republican party, his party. Until he realizes what he should do, the Republicans are wasting time, energy, and money pretending McCain is not yet their Presidential nominee.

Bye-bye, Rudy

Whatever happened to Rudy Giuliani? He was a favorite here in California, and a frontrunner across the country just a few short months ago. In the past few months, however, Giuliani’s support waned then nearly died in the polls. He was hoping for a comeback in Florida then maybe gaining momentum in California, but the campaign never quite reached that point.
Now we’ve all heard the old adage, “all press is good press.” Giuliani proved it true albeit with a slight variation. Bad press followed by no press. Giuliani’s communications shop had a flawed strategy. They displayed a form of arrogance to the media that damaged Giuliani’s campaign more than anything else.
When the New York Times published a crushing article regarding Giuliani’s use of mayoral campaign funds to pay for his personal trips to the Hamptons in 1999 and 2000, it took more than a month for Giuliani’s communications team to respond with anything and have the article retracted. Had his campaign team been more on the ball, they might have been able to save the campaign and themselves.
It is mistakes like these that cost a candidate an entire campaign. With the candidates we have left in the Republican Party, I know everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for the one who is slightly better than the other.