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2008 Republicans

Hillary Clinton and John McCain’s Craven Gas-Tax Maneuver

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the pandering Presidential politics of Clinton, McCain and Obama. McCain pandered on the gas tax and Hillary and Barack pandered on trade.

A few days ago, in a disheartening display of more of the same, Clinton joined McCain in supporting the suspension of the federal gasoline tax this Read More

Don’t Count McCain Out in Florida

Florida’s closed Republican primary was supposed to be John McCain’s undoing.

Tomorrow’s vote marks the first time balloting in a G.O.P. contest is restricted only to registered Republicans, leaving out the independents who boosted Mr. McCain’s performance in New Hampshire, Michigan, and South Carolina. At the mercy of a party base that despises him for his Read More

Kinder, Gentler Rudy in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla.—Between two campaign events at the Rosen Centre Hotel here, Rudy Giuliani held a brief press conference in which he sought to portray himself as the reasonable, positive and polite presidential candidate disapproving of the negative exchanges between John McCain and Mitt Romney.

In other words, Giuliani, once the Republican front-runner, has been relegated to Read More

Fred Thompson Drops Out

From the AP:Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states. "Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Read More

Giuliani Campaign Needs Money

Rudy Giuliani's campaign is both soliciting donations from supporters and still trying to make the case that they were right not to compete in Iowa, and to compete only half-heartedly in New Hampshire, even though the former mayor has effectively been dropped from the national political discussion in recent weeks.Here is the fund-raising letter that Read More

Happy Huckabee Dodges a Bullet

Fortune smiled on Mike Huckabee today.

The former Arkansas Governor, suddenly the front-runner in Iowa, was supposed to come under intense fire from Mitt Romney at this afternoon’s Republican debate in Des Moines—the last head-to-head encounter between the candidates before the January 3 caucuses.

And the set-up seemed perfect for Mr. Romney, whose Mormonism has probably contributed Read More

So Much for Huckabee’s Dark-Horse Campaign

It’s tempting to compare Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign to Jimmy Carter’s in 1976.

Both men, personable and devoutly Christian former governors from small southern states, began in total anonymity, only to navigate their way in dogged fashion to the head of crowded primary packs.

In Mr. Carter’s case, the momentum carried him all the way to the Read More

Five Easy Arguments Against Fred Thompson

When Fred Thompson enters the Republican primary in September, he’ll bring considerable charm, a nearly perfect pro-life voting record, a base of support from conservative opinion makers and a useful distance from the calamities which have befallen Republicans of late.

Still, the still-hypothetical Thompson candidacy is likely to prove a lot more vulnerable to attack Read More

Rudy’s Man in the Middle East

Martin Kramer has never met Rudy Giuliani. But the recently named senior Middle East advisor to the Giuliani campaign appears to be having significant influence on how the former mayor views the world.

"I was not added for who I am," said Mr. Kramer, in a phone interview from Tel Aviv. "Certainly not for Read More

If It’s Sunday, It’s Iraq and Immigration

John McCain did not appear on any of the Sunday morning shows this week, nor was his name mentioned with any particular frequency. But the conversation on the big three network programs centered on the two topics that have come to define and imperil the Arizona Republican's White House bid: Iraq, where his stay-the-course rhetoric Read More

Debate Scorecard: G.O.P. Liabilities On Display

Mitt Romney used the first Republican presidential debate to validate his inclusion in the top tier and Rudy Giuliani used the second one to save his campaign from falling out of it.

In tonight’s third debate, though, nothing transpired that threatens to alter the basic GOP pecking order. Messrs. Giuliani and Romney, along with Read More