Republican

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is not popular with many conservative bloggers and their readers. How will this play in his 2008 aspirations? CBS News observes that Presidential campaigns, even in their infancy, are already working on building rapport with political blogs — the constantly updated, often highly-partisan Web sites where authors post news updates, opinion pieces and everything in between. From CBSNEWS.com:

The relationship between candidates and the blogosphere is an important one, but sometimes uneasy. If bloggers and their readers feel slighted or ignored by a candidate, retribution can be harsh. But blogs will also help candidates they favor with organization and fundraising.

The candidates’ outreach efforts vary. Candidates will sometimes serve as guest-bloggers on more popular sites. Other campaigns, like those of Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, have hired popular bloggers to work for them.

But those strategies can sometimes backfire, as evidenced this week, when Edwards faced questions over comments two of his bloggers had posted on an outside Web site that criticized the Catholic Church, drawing the ire of conservative groups. The story, of course, has been the hot topic on political blogs of all stripes for the past two days. Edwards decided to keep the bloggers on his staff and both issued apologies.

Republican John McCain’s campaign faces a different problem: Despite leading in polls of GOP primary voters, many conservative bloggers don’t like him and don’t trust him.

In particular, they take issue with the campaign finance overhaul law he co-sponsored in 2002. A frequent complaint on blogs is that the measure curtails free speech and — hitting closer to home — contains provisions that threatened to severely restrict the activity of political blogs.

McCain also took heat from blog readers when he joined a bipartisan group to prevent a Senate rules change that would have ended filibusters on judicial nominees, and many are wary of him because, they say, he is too friendly with the “MSM” — mainstream media.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said yesterday the “proof is in the pudding” that he is a true conservative, despite a recent rash of national media reports about shifts in his positions on abortion and gay rights.

The potential Republican presidential candidate acknowledged that he was pro-choice until two years ago but now believes the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion should be overturned. He supported federal legislation guaranteeing rights to gays in the early 1990s, and now no longer does, but said yesterday his position has been consistent “since the beginning of my political career” that “marriage should be a relationship between a man and a woman.”

Romney discusses the re-opening of the eastbound Ted Williams tunnel during a news conference in this file photo taken Friday, July 21, 2006, in Boston. At right is state Transportation Secretary John Cogliano. The legacy of the most expensive highway project in U.S. history is being defined not by the underground leaks that plagued it or the quintupling of its price tag to more than $14.6 billion. No, it comes down to the hundreds of bolts, each weighing less than a pound, that were glued into the concrete tunnel roof to hold up the 4,600-pound concrete ceiling panels. (AP Photo/Celina Fang, File)

Romney met with groups of supporters and uncommitted activists in Manchester and Exeter. Although he has looked and acted like a candidate and has begun organizing a New Hampshire support network, he insisted he has not yet decided if he will run for President. He said he’d spend next week discussing his plans with his family.

Still, a Romney aide told the New Hampshire Union Leader that Romney will file a committee with the Federal Election Commission very shortly after the New Year. It is unclear, the aide said, if it will be an exploratory committee or a full-fledged presidential campaign committee. Romney’s formal announcement for President is expected to come later.

National analysts and columnists have said the current GOP presidential crop lacks a true conservative and speculate that Romney may have changed his position on the key social issues to impress conservatives. But Romney said that’s not true.

“Talk is cheap but action is not,” he said. If he runs for President, New Hampshire voters need only look at his record as Bay State governor to “see what I’ve done with regard to same sex marriage. They’ll see what I’ve done with regard to matters relating to abortion.”

This excerpt used with permission. Read the full article here.

“When it comes to the presidency, the Republican Party has a long tradition of nominating the next guy in line” notes Liz Sidoti, Associated Press Writer. She also notes the obvious about that tradition: John McCain is next.

Yet, a full year before the first primary contests, the Republican race is anything but wrapped up. The Arizona senator who once reveled in his reputation for bucking the party line is now running as the establishment candidate, but he faces serious challenges from Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Yet, a full year before the first primary contests, the Republican race is anything but wrapped up. The Arizona senator who once reveled in his reputation for bucking the party line is now running as the establishment candidate, but he faces serious challenges from Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“Right now, McCain is the front-runner. There are always dangers in being a front-runner. But you’d rather be the front-runner than the also-ran,” said Ken Duberstein, a longtime GOP consultant. “The question is whether McCain falters or not.”

Others dispute that the front-runner mantel belongs to anyone this early.

“We don’t have one yet. There’s not enough engagement by the activists and the money people,” countered Ed Rogers, a Republican strategist. He said straw polls, dollars in the bank, and key endorsements next year would better gauge the state of play.

Yet, there’s no denying the party’s history.

“We’re respectful of hierarchy,” Rogers acknowledged.

Regardless of who has the early edge, McCain, Romney and Giuliani make up the top tier of the crowded GOP presidential field that includes a cast of other lesser-known potential candidates, most of whom would be long-shots should they decide to formally enter the race.

In all, at least a dozen Republicans are considering running to succeed President Bush. With Vice President Dick Cheney having ruled out a candidacy, the cast of wannabes grows daily. It includes current and former governors, as well as current and former members of Congress.

Among them, the McCain, Romney and Giuliani troika are considered serious contenders believed to be able to raise the $80 million to $100 million next year that operatives say will be needed to mount a viable campaign.

The article points out however that all three also have positions that raise alarms with the GOP’s vitally important conservative base:

— Long viewed skeptically by conservatives for his renegade streak, McCain has further agitated them with his position on immigration and his involvement in avoiding a Senate showdown over Bush’s judicial nominees.

— Romney insists that he opposes abortion and is a defender of traditional marriage. Yet, he voiced more liberal views when he ran as a moderate in his 2002 gubernatorial race and in a failed 1994 Senate bid. He’s drawn fire from leading conservatives for such inconsistencies.

— Giuliani is a social moderate who supports gun control, same-sex civil unions and abortion rights, stands that run counter to the positions of the GOP’s right flank.

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