Huckabee Rising

WASHINGTON -- It is incredible to this newspaper that Mike Huckabee, the most conservative of the Republican candidates and a man of faith - former pastor - has not been 'accepted' by the GOP establishment as 'their man.' Truly, his conservative credentials are impeccable. Iowa, however, has slowly come to grips with the realization that this former Arkansas governor is the one candidate that will carry the Republican maxim of low taxes, controlled spending and - more importantly - smaller government.

For all the 'sexiness' that other candidates like Rudy (his New York anti mafia stances) and Mitt (his good looks) may have, they lack the credentials that this former governor from a GOP bastion like Arkansas has. Recent poll numbers in Iowa have Huckabee trailing Romney by only 2 percentage points amongst likely Republican caucus goers at 26%-24%, respectively (see polls). Just three months ago, Romney led him by 13 percentage points. If Huckabee were to win in Iowa and fishish a strong second or third in New Hampshire - which is more than possible - then the former Arkansas governor would be on the driver's seat going into Super Tuesday.

Iowa voters take their job very seriously and I very sincerely doubt that they would choose a candidate that is pro-abortion, anti-gun, and pro-gay rights (Rudy). Or a candidate that has flip flopped more times than John Kerry (Mitt). Hillary and the Clinton machine would have a much tougher time attacking a pastor from a conservative state than both Rudy and Romney. In fact, one reader mentioned how devastating an attack Hillary could launch against Giuliani. Just picture this: A black screen with the positions Rudy has taken in everything from gay rights, pro abortions, anti guns, him in drag, and then the question "How well do you know your candidate?".... that would be powerful indeed. Or, Romney's various flip flops on abortion rights and his opportunist nature. They only thing that the Hillary camp has on Huckabee is that he enjoyed one too many big macs, but then again, there's the other Clinton that enjoyed the same thing.

The bottom line is that, regardless of what the Religious Right says regarding who they're supporting, and we don't really think that they will follow Pat Robertson's lead and blindly vote for a candidate that basically is at odds with their message, Mike Huckabee will prove how viable his is. He gets their message. The question is, is the establishment ready to support him? Electability is sometimes more important than likeability. How far is the GOP willing to go? Will they sell their soul to keep the White House? Iowa will be the first test.

Update: 11/19/07 - We forgot to mention that Chuck Norris has jumped on the Huckabee bandwagon. Oh boy, this campaign will implode before it takes off!

Hillary Back On Her Game

Las Vegas, NV -- "I think that people know where I've stood for 35 years," said Senator Clinton. She was responding to Mr. Edward's continuing - and we can't blame him - nitpicking at Clinton's record in the US Senate. "I am not being attacked because I am a woman, but because I'm the front-runner," said the NY Senator. Senator Obama lacked the spark of the last debate, although he tried, saying that we needed to "initiate the kind of regional diplomacy, not just talking to our friends, but talking to our enemies," clearly showing the differences between his approach and that of Senator Clinton's.

Senator Edwards continued to press the issue declaring, rather defiantly, that "Senator Clinton says she will end the [Iraq] war. She also says she will continue to keep combat troops in Iraq and continue combat missions in Iraq." Is that Hillary having it both ways? Both Edwards and Obama believe so. How is this approach -- the most critical so far -- affecting the poll numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire? Well, according to poll numbers from the American Research Group, Clinton is leading at 29% of registered Dems, compared to 21% and 20% for Obama and Edwards, respectively. After the debate tonight, I only see Senator Clinton's numbers going up in Iowa and Obama's falling. Obama, for all the pomp and gravitas, he clearly lacks the killer instinct that Hillary has (a Clinton trait). He's too good for his own good, and by "good" we mean a "good boy." He's not combative, like Edwards, and prefers to present the positives from his positions, than go after Clinton. That's not his style and when he does it, it looks staged. In this newspaper's honest opinion, Senator Obama could have used a term or two of seasoning and maybe a governorship to really be a serious candidate for president.

As we move through the middle of November, this debate was a lost opportunity for the Obama campaign. We clearly can't see a way that Hillary Clinton loses the nomination of the Democratic Party. All the candidates better 'act nice' if they want a nice cushy job in the Clinton Administration. There's no way that any of these Democrats can stop her. The only one that would have a shot would be Al Gore, but he has said that he's not interested in running or even serving in anyone's administration. Too bad, this would have been his chance to shine.

Hillary's Immigration Conundrum

It's uncharacteristically Hillary Clinton. The New York Senator actually getting something wrong? For all the big bugs that the candidate pays her top advisors, with the biggest and most influential being her husband, she still gets crucified on a simple answer to a simple question: "Do you support giving licenses to illegal immigrants?"

Simple not because of the issue at hand, but simple because it is clearly a "gotcha" questions as she claimed. The answer is a simple "no." Not because she's against immigration, but again, simply, because that is not the answer to the problem of illegal immigration. Sure, giving drivers licenses to people is a "priviledge" like Senator Dodd said, but it is also a security measure. Licenses are given out because it is imperative for authorities to know who's driving. When it comes to undocumented people, on the other hand, driver licenses puts a band-aid on the boob oo and does not fix it. The answer is "no" because licenses are one of the last steps in the legal procedures making undocumented workers "documented." Or, as other people would say, from "illegal" to "legal." What first needs to happen is a way to secure our borders, provide a path to legal residency to the 12 million that are already in this country, and then finding a way to grant these people, who after paying back taxes and fines, actual citizenship and all the benefits of our great Constitution.

Hillary's heart was in the right place, but she totally messed up on her delivery. Before the licenses has to come immigration reform. Yes, Governors across the nation are really facing these issues, but it is because the federal government has completely failed in delivering much-needed immigration reform. The federal government's job is to protect the citizenry and not state governors. Hillary has to make this an immigration reform issue rather than a simple "yes or no" answer, because she's right, and Bill is right, this is not a yes or no answer. It is not that simple, but she cannot afford to cloud her message further by giving mixed responses to complex questions. If she is to win the nomination she has to clear it up with tonight's debate in Las Vegas. Recent poll numbers have shown that Edwards has clearly benefited from his attacks on Clinton while Obama has been attacking himself, but has mostly benefited from Edwards' attacks on the NY Senator as well.