Hewitt is touting him to the Heavens.

But Hewitt went to the mattresses for Harriet Meirs too, telling us all that she was the best that we could get. God what was he thinking, or drinking or smoking. Then again, maybe he was tripping......... I don’t know what he was doing. But this I know, HE WASN’T THINKING!

And now he’s out there going to bat for Romney. The guy is dodging and a weaving on a variety of hot button social issues, Hewitt trivializes that as, and I quote, an "MSM meme." As if Romney had a stellar, sterling record of rock-ribbed Conservatism, and the media is trying in their nefarious way to report otherwise.

If the surge works, if Petraeus makes this work, McCain will be almost impossible to stop from getting the nomination. For he will have proven visionary, tough, toughminded and prescient. Moreover, McCain staked out that position years ago, and everybody knows it, in the GOP and out.

Peter: Could you or someone please explain what conservatives see in Mitt? I know the candidates are all mediocre at best, but Romney??!!??!

He DID turn around the Salt Lake Olympics. Those Olympics were on course to be a Grade-A embarrassment not just to the city and state, but to the whole country. He got it sorted out, and made sure everything was accomplished on time for the opening ceremonies. He demonstrated good old fashion competence, dive and resourcefulness.

His record in Mass is certainly mixed, and his health care package is going to come in way overbudget.

I think what people like Hewitt see in him is the packaging. His appearance is helping him, he looks the part. McCain’s body is a battered, pale reflection of the man he used to be. McCain LOOKS like he just left the Hanoi Hilton. Giuliani looks like an U.S. Attorney, not the Chief Executive. Newt Gingrich’s is as Peter Lawler observed, rather beefy. And then again, his name is almost something that J.K. Rowlng or Charles Dickens would conjure up. It’s a case of truth being stranger than fiction.

The other candidates are going notwhere because they haven’t the stature, the accomplishment and the name recognition of the top tier candidates. Huckabee, Pawlenty, Gary Bauer, Alan Keyes, Sam Brownback. None of them are going to be truly considered for the nomination. A few might be angling to try to garner a place on the ticket, which might not be a bad idea for a guy like Brownback.

Whichever man gets the ticket, {Other than Gingrich that is...} is going to have to balance the ticket with the type of Conservative that can soothe ruffled feathers amongst the base. I thought that Rick Santorum would have been the perfect pick as the one to balance the ticket. But he got crushed by Casey. He truly did. Casey ran a campaign where he hid, where he presented himself as infrequently as possible. He ran the EXACT opposite of the campaign that Santorum did.

So a guy like Brownback is in a real good spot.

I think that Lindsay Graham deludes himself he’s going to get on the ticket. Graham is only a little less despised amongst the base than McCain himself!

It is premature to say Romney is washed up. Politics is like any sport--comebacks are possible and when it looks like one is at an end, something usually happens to change the momentum of the game. Wait until Giuliani is vetted in the press.

Romney is a serious player and has done much to raise the funds needed to carry through the primaries.

Brownback does not have a chance--not only is he too far behind in fund raising, he is soft on the war.

Republicans seem to understand that the war is the most important thing. Both Giuliani and Romney are hawkish. Brownback thinking that Republicans will take a dovish Republican is, shall we say, shortsighted. He’s misreading the election results I think.

Also, Brownback has similar troubles as Romney in terms of his dedication to life issues--his heart is not in it as NRO has pointed out. Though Brownback has the votes in office to back his life commitment, that commitment seems a bit opportunistic nevertheless.

I think that McCain and Giuliani could damage each other severely, because each is going to be looking to garner the same type of primary voter. Which leaves Gingrich sailing free and clear of the battle damage that McCain and Giuliani will be inflicting on each other. Sooner or later those two men are going to realize that it’s going to be one of them, and the stakes and the race are going to make their interaction become more spirited, shall we say.

And I think that battle, that attrition, will leave BOTH vulnerable to Gingrich. Gingrich will be out there talking issues and solutions, while Giuliani and McCain are forced to beat each other up.

Recall too that the media will have an interest in hyping and playing up the even the slightest of critical comments by those men.

I don’t think the media will be paying as much attention to Gingrich. Like Lawler, like Hewitt, they won’t see Gingrich as a serious candidate. But they’ll focus on McCain and Giuliani. By hyping the moderation of McCain and Giuliani, they know the damage they will be causing the GOP by driving down Republican voter turnout.

So it makes sense for the media to focus on McCain and Giuliani. Not to mention through covering a political fight between those two men, it reduces their iconic status. Brings them down into the mud of politics. Giuliani since 9/11 has been very good at staying above that, the media, friends of Hillary, have a vested interest in annihilating that halo he’s been walking around under.

And the other thing ERIK, in a way, Giuliani HAS BEEN VETTED. Remember the coverage of John Cardinal O’Connor’s funeral in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. You remember that. Do you remember Giuliani’s wife outside, blasting Rudy for choosing to get a divorce. She was all teary and the media just loved showing it over and over again. And they also covered her refusal to leave the Mayor’s Mansion. Stories of his marital difficulties were widely circulated. Most people in America ALREADY have a good idea of his tumultuous relationships.

Likewise gun-control. Most Americans know his views, because they’ve been widely reported. Throw in abortion. If anything, most Republicans don’t appreciate his views on Originalism. Which means he has the potential to sway Conservative voters his way because of those views on American Constitutional interpretation.

Haaa... Cheww... Ron Paul...

Excuse me.

George Will’s piece on Ron Paul is backfiring. The limited government and Constitutionalist types are in an uproar.

Paul also handily won the Pajamas Media poll, and then his name was promptly removed from the list of candidates.

(Posted on another thread also.)

I think that there are enough problems with the top three candidates (Romney, Rudy, McCain) that will beg for at least one of the second tier candidates to emerge.

This thing has started so danged early that there is plenty of time for the Republican primary voters to take a step back, say something this summer or early fall.

At that point I think there will be this collective pause and a question:
"Do I really want a gun grabbing Rudy. A sometimes Democrat McCain or this seriously wishy washy Romney? I have six months to look at someone new... Who else is out there again?"

And with that it will depend on who else has hung around long enough and looked presidential enough to start building momentum when momentum counts.

I don’t think I am, personally, so far out in left field to be very different from the typical primary voter. I am now and have been a precinct person for years. I have knocked on doors for candidates, written letters to the editor, raised money etc... I have in the past committed early and also committed late. AND... And I just really don’t know WHO I am ready to support.

I really don’t.

Romney seems to be the most conservative of the top three candidates. Considering the competition that is not saying much.

On the other hand he does seem to be more hawkish on the war than McCain or Giuliani. The idea that Rudy will be a tiger on the war is an illusion, like everything else about him.

Nobody knows where the war will be in 2008. That leaves all the candidates trying position themselves to take advantage of whatever occurs.

Look, there may be good reasons to oppose a Giuliani candidacy, but his stance on gun contol isn’t one of them. Come on, the guy was mayor of the largest city in the country--supporting gun control is a no-brainer for someone in that position. However, what makes for rational public policy at the level of a big city doesn’t necessarily apply at the national level. What indication has there been that a President Giuliani would push for tighter federal gun laws?

How can a man with hair like Mitt’s, and with a name like Mitt, possibly win? So far, Rudy’s the man. He is forehead-challenged, and even Rudy sounds more presidential than Mitt.

John,
I might first suggest "the corner" over at NRO.TheCorner

Rudy’s weakness on guns is the primary topic over there.

Secondly and this is anecdotal to be sure, but when I have done a Rudy post on my blog I tend to get some 2nd amendmenters voicing concern.

Finally I also happen to know the state director of one of the larger pro gun organizations here in the northwest. I know he would never ever vote for or encourage his membership to vote for Rudy.

I am not saying I agree with him, I merely want to point out that Rudy has some work to do in that area when it comes to some in the Republican party.

Tancredo’s da man...OORAH!

Romney is not more hawkish than McCain. Romney has no clear stance on the war, or anything else for that matter. He supports it, would have done it better, thinks we should win, but has no plan, just a bunch of blah. I would agree that Giuliani has a lot of show on security and less substance.