The Field of Competition in 08 Elections

When it comes right down to it there are a lot of choices in the up and coming election but there are only a handful of smart ones. The republican side has it's 1 or 2 potential candidates and the Democrats have their 2. The question is who is going to come out the victor and who will be spoiled?

The problem for everyone other than Obama is that they are all telling us how bad the world is and how much danger we face and how only they are qualified to protect us. This is a kind of K-Mart version of Bush’s entire administration and Hillary sells it with as much fervor as does Rudy G.

Whomever the Republicans nominate is doomed, not just by the tsunami that Obama is surfing so well but by association with Mr. Bush. John McCain, who embraced the president after having his reputation trashed by him, has the scent of a warmonger on his lapels when he suggests he would have approved the Iraq invasion even without WMD. McCain, who would be the oldest president to ever take the oath of office, can hardly represent the generational tide that will flood the voting booths.

While we may be uncertain of exactly what he is, we do know precisely what he is not and that is one of the other candidates. We know them all in varying degrees. Hillary Clinton’s ambition has been on overt display since her days in Arkansas and the move to New York for the senate run was as calculated as her adopting a southern accent when speaking to African-American voters. We suspect we know what she will be like because we have already seen the male version of her administration.

Mitt Romney looks and sounds like every Republican in the modern era. He has money, product-laden hair, good suits, and the ability to change his positions on issues to attract people he had previously alienated. Unfortunately, the evangelical Christian wing of his party privately and publicly disdains Romney’s Mormon religion and they aren’t about to send out their vanguard of spiritual warriors to get him elected.

There’s Rudy, of course, but his “noun, verb, 911″ tactic was miscalculated and instead of elevating his bona fides it has only served to remind us of that which we do not want to confront. His grasp of facts and the truth has not exactly been tenacious, either. Fred Thompson, it turns out, is a better actor on television than on the campaign trail and ambivalence is not powerfully inspiring to the electorate.

What’s left? Mike Huckabee is having his moment but it is not likely to be sustaining. He is far too much the goober from Arkansas, who once stood and stared seriously into a camera and congratulated Canada on saving its national igloo. He seems to have used his influence in Little Rock as a kind of ATM machine for his family and has made the kind of mistakes as a governor that will make him easy to disassemble in the general election. The evangelicals are attracted to Huckabee but the party apparatchiks are not. He’s in trouble.

Republicans prepare for Florida in 08

Speaking at a news conference at the Bank of America Midtown Plaza, Huckabee said Saturday's results in South Carolina were close. He finished second to U.S. Sen. John McCain, just 3 percentage points behind.

Huckabee was then in Atlanta to attend the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative service and to pick up the endorsement of nearly three dozen black ministers and religious leaders from around the country.

When told that Georgia Republicans have voted the same as South Carolinians in every Republican presidential primary since 1980, Huckabee was undeterred.

"They may have voted that way since 1980, but there have been a lot of firsts this campaign season and there's going to be another one. A big one. We plan on carrying Georgia," he said.

Huckabee said things would have been different Saturday had it not been for the presence of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson on the ballot. Thompson seemed to pull voters away from Huckabee, given both men's appeal to evangelical voters.

"We were this close," Huckabee said. "Some of it, we think, was the Fred Thompson factor. We would have won handily if it weren't for that."

Huckabee took off from the news conference Monday for Florida, where Republicans hold a primary next week. But Huckabee returns to Atlanta Tuesday morning for a pair of receptions and to speak at the Georgia Right to Life memorial service at the Capitol.

Dean Nelson, executive director of the Network of Politically Active Christians, was among those at the news conference endorsing Huckabee.

"Mike Huckabee is the person who encapsulates and carries the values the African-American community holds," Nelson said.

He said he made that decision after Huckabee was the only Republican candidate to show up for a debate sponsored by PBS at historically black Morgan State University.

On the other side of the Republican Party, boosted by strong support from independents and South Carolina's active and retired military voters, Mr. McCain edged out Mr. Huckabee, 33% to 30%.

The results mark a dramatic reversal of fortune for Mr. McCain in the Palmetto State. He was defeated here in 2000 in his unsuccessful presidential bid against George W. Bush -- a campaign marked by negative attacks on the senator's personal life and professional record. "It took us a while, but what's eight years among friends," said a laughing Mr. McCain Saturday night.

On Sunday, Mr. McCain called the GOP contest "still very competitive" but said his South Carolina win gives him momentum heading into the next big battle in Florida. Mr. McCain took a swipe at Rudy Giuliani, who avoided the early primary states to make his first big stand in Florida, which votes Jan. 29. Mr. McCain said he expected to come under heavy criticism from the former New York mayor.

"If someone hasn't run a primary, I can understand why they would attack the front-runner," Mr. McCain told reporters at a news conference.

"I think we're obviously doing very well," Mr. McCain said. Still, he added, "This is still very competitive."

Despite favor from the state's evangelical voting bloc and efforts from outside groups on his behalf, Mr. Huckabee couldn't pull out a win. He heads into Florida in a weakened position, unable to show he can win Republican votes outside of his evangelical base. But Mr. Huckabee struck an optimistic tone in his defeat, noting that he'd rather lose "with honor" than have resorted to negative attacks. "The process is far, far from over," he vowed in his concession speech. "The path to the White House is not ending here tonight."