Wednesday, January 30, 2008

So Long, John and Rudy

You're Out!!!
John Edwards is out of the race. Surprised? He stuck it out long enough to make it through Florida. Why? Would the bills have been too high with too little return for him to stay in the race to compete in Tsunami Tuesday on Feb. 5th.

Surely his endorsement will now be the most talked about/sought after voice of support around Democratic circles. It's difficult, dare I say, almost impossible, to see him endorsing Clinton. But will he go out in public to say he's an Obama guy now? If he doesn't, will that effectively help Clinton?

Edwards would never tell me he HAD to win the Iowa Caucuses. But I never bought it. He did knock off Clinton here. But with all the time and money he spent here in Iowa, it seemed like he HAD to win. He didn't, of course. He never won anywhere. And now he's out. What a two-person race this will be now!

Rudy Giuliani is out now, too. Is that even news? O.K., I'm being a bit sarcastic. O.K., more than just a bit sarcastic. Giuliani never turned out to be much of a factor. He skipped the Iowa Republican Party's Straw Poll, which ticked off Republicans here. He seemed to try in Iowa before the Caucues. Then, then he didn't. Then he did. Then he didn't. But some Republican activists told me they felt Giuliani conducted a stealth effort here, even when he physically wasn't here. He spent heavily on mailings and radio ads (he never did air tv commercials).

Insiders told me he really gunned to finish third here, so he could say he "did better than expected" on his way to New Hampshire. He campaigned pretty heavily in New Hampshire and spent heavily. But then, down the stretch, his campaign acted as if he didn't really try there. I don't see how you can say he "skipped" Iowa and New Hampshire. Sure, he didn't campaign as much as others. But does anyone actually believe Giuliani "tried" less in Iowa than, say, John McCain? Now, he's supporting McCain. Or at least it sounds like he will offically by tonight. Is McCain unstoppable now?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yippee. It's finally down to a couple of candidates in each party. Oh, except for Ron Paul and Huckabee. Are they staying in to be "spoilers" or what the excuse? With only two on each side, maybe it's time that we look inside the backgrounds of all four. Not only the voting records (no spin) but the family history. Honestly I have heard nothing about either McCain or Romney or Obama. As for Hillary we pretty much know her recent family history - good and bad but why have we been isolated from the others?
At least when you report you report the entire message and not parts and pieces that might meet with your favor. Too bad the same doesn't hold true for national media. What do they do, all meet for coffee every morning to decide what's the message of the day then go forth and multiply?
Thanks for your honesty.