Huckabee still has a strategy to win the Republican nomination. Huckabee’s strategy is to pick up enough delegates to keep McCain from the magic number of a first ballot nomination – 1,191.
Even if McCain leads in the delegate count, if it is less than 1,191 then the Republican Convention goes into extra ballots.
Huckabee’s new strategy is totally contingent on being successful in Texas and Ohio.
JRH 2/22/08 (Hat tip to PoliPundit)
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Super Tuesday has come and gone. The waters are a little less muddy but they are still muddy.
For the Democrats Hillary asserted herself as a front runner however by no means eliminated Obama from nipping at her feet.
For the Republicans the once down for the count McCain has beat the ten-count to be ahead in points. Romney had a surprisingly disappointing showing and Huckabee had a surprisingly strong showing; however that combination seems to have cancelled each other out giving the old man McCain new vigor toward a nomination win.
In politics things can change but it appears Huck's strong show may embolden him to go all the way through the primary process even if it is a loosing effort in the hope that miracles will continue to boost him toward an unlikely nomination.
Romney was seriously hurt by Super Tuesday. He has the money to stay in the race; however at this point the businessman needs to calculate the profit and loss and decide on a strategy that could make him a king maker or part of the winning nominee's team in some influential manner. Of course as I have said, politics change. Any unforeseen occurrence could rearrange the fortunes of the Republicans top three candidates at any moment.
Which Republican do I support? I just cannot come up with a clear choice; however I do not suffer from a McCain Derangement Syndrome that might lead to a certain Democratic Party victory. A Dem victory although expected is not a shoe-in and is abhorrent to me.
I cannot vote for a Mormon to win the nomination because of my religious beliefs; however I will vote for a Mormon over a Democrat any day of the week especially in November 2008.
I like Huck’s self-proclaimed Social Conservatism and his stand of not being ashamed to be a Christian; however there are elements of taxation and immigration that bother me about Huck. Still I will vote Huckabee in November above any Democrat nominated. The Democrats are simply to fringe to the Left and although I know they think they are helping Americans by denigrating military confrontation with Islamofascists they are really emboldening the Islamofascists with greater confidence to continue acts of terrorism that could once again reach the land of Purple Mountain’s Majesty.
I’ll see at the Republican Convention who I will ultimately vote for in November. And may all Republicans set aside their differences and stand united behind whoever that winner is. The Democratic Party platform of “Change” is a change to the Left and that will not be good for America.
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My Man Fred came in a disappointing third place in South Carolina. Apparently Huck believes Fred was a spoiler for his campaign in South Carolina and would have won over McCain if Fred was not there.
For me it boggles my mind that my fellow Christian Right voters are falling for Huckabee instead of Thompson. Thompson has the proven record of the most consistent Conservative fiscally and socially of the Candidates that have a real shot in the competition for the nomination.
Apparently Huckabee’s ministerial ordination credentials and home spun ability to connect with voters is of more value than a consistent Conservative track record.
Officially Fred has not thrown in the towel after counting so much on South Carolina; however a rather dour speech that sounded like “Thanks for the Memories” provides the appearance Fred is thinking of withdrawing.
I doubt Fred will gain any traction in the touted Florida Primary coming up; however I pray Fred stays in through Super Tuesday. If Fred can lose the dourness and show the fire he had in the last few debates, Super Tuesday may prove good for Fred even if he is not the majority winner. If the Republican Convention has no clear winner of delegates, then the bargaining begins in extra ballots at the Convention. Something I have never seen in my life time, but it has happened.
So my man Fred, stiffen that back and get tough and stick it out. A Convention that decides on multiple ballots does not mean the candidate with the most delegates after the first ballot is the automatic winner. A Candidate must win a minimum of 1191 delegates to be declared the winner of the Presidential nomination. If that doesn’t happen on the first ballot, the back room deals and political wrangling to come up with magic number occurs.
Thus even a third or fourth place finish for Fred may be seen as the logical compromise choice with his consistent Conservativism.
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