McCain, Romney, Giuliani — heavyweights in GOP field as 2006 ends

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“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.

2008 hopeful Mccain

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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Congressmen Want Kerry’s 2008 Decision Soon

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Two leading members of the state’s congressional delegation are anxious for Senator John Kerry to make up his mind on whether he’ll run again for the White House.

Representative James McGovern says his advice to Kerry is “hurry up.”

Congressman Michael Capuano, who is leading the day-to-day transition effort for incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, says the senator needs to clarify his plans soon.

Kerry — who lost to President Bush in 2004 — reiterated Friday that he’ll decide after New Year’s Day. McGovern says delegation members are eager for Kerry’s decision so they can line up behind someone else if he declines to run.

Earlier this month, Senator Edward Kennedy said he wouldn’t wait indefinitely for Kerry’s 2008 decision, stepping up pressure on the junior senator.

– by Katie Krupnik at WCSH channel 6

Chances slim for Kerry, Edwards

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John Kerry and John Edwards have gone their separate ways, but already some pundits are scoffing that either Democrat is on the road to the White House. -So says Emma Ratliff of the
Boston Herald. She says “Edwards, the ex-North Carolina senator who appeared overjoyed to be tapped as Kerry’s presidential running mate, yesterday announced he’s striking out on his own on a presidential bid as the Bay State’s Kerry continues to mull another run.” This may be due to Edwards always boyish glow and joyful appearance, because on a recent edition of Hardball, Edwards admitted to host Chris Mathews suspicion that he did not like running as VP at all.

“Edwards is obviously the more serious of the two candidates, but the two do have one thing in common: They’re both losers,” said Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

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“Neither one will walk away with their collective 2004 base. Democrats did not vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket because they loved either candidate, they voted because they thought the two could beat George W. Bush,” Sabato said.

Democratic strategist Doug Hattaway is more skeptical about Kerry’s prospects, though,as the Massachusetts senator weighs a 2008 bid. “Democratic voters are not big on second chances,” said Hattaway, and unlike Edwards, Kerry also will have to deal with the issue of his “botched Iraq joke.”

In a Dec. 11 ABC News/ Washington Post poll, Edwards came in third among those whom voters would select for their Democratic presidential nominee. Kerry ran behind Al Gore at the No. 5 position. Kerry is expected to reveal his intentions soon. Edwards’ press secretary, Jennifer Palmieri, could not confirm whether Edwards, 53, contacted Kerry prior to launching his own effort.

But she insists there is no animosity between the two former teammates, welcoming Kerry to join the presidential race. “Sen. Edwards feels that the more talented candidates in the field, the better.”

Kerry was not available for comment yesterday.

Gov. Mitt Romney Denies ‘Flip-Flop,’ Says He’s Opposed to Gay Marriage and Abortion

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The AP reports that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who we all know is weighing a White House bid, dismissed criticism that he has flip-flopped on the issues of gay marriage and abortion and reaffirmed his opposition to both. Democrats are hoping to use the powerful the same accusation of being unprincipaled and not really standing for anything, against Romney, who is suspected to become an instant favorite amung Republicans if he can only assure them on these two key issues.

Romneys explanation is not rocket science: “Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve opposed same-sex marriage, but I’ve also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone, for racial or religious reasons, or for sexual preference,” Romney said in an interview with the National Review magazine published online Thursday. Indeed, his record on gay rights is unusually strong for a conservative Republican, however that is unlikely to matter to his critics in an age where it is acceptable to be against same sex marraige (like Bill and Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama), but you quickly become a bigot and hater if you support allowing citizens to vote on the matter (like Mitt Romney has recently fought for).

Regarding abortion, Romney said — as he has said previously — that although he campaigned for governor as an abortion-rights supporter, he changed his position several years ago after being briefed on embryonic stem-cell research.

“I’m committed to promoting the culture of life,” the Massachusetts governor told the conservative magazine. “Like Ronald Reagan and Henry Hyde and others who became pro-life, I had this issue wrong in the past.”

The comments were Romney’s first public explanation of his stance on the two key social issues since the publication last week of a 1994 letter — sent in the final weeks of his failed campaign against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — in which he cited his sensitivity to the concerns of Log Cabin Republicans, the party’s gay group.

“As a result of our discussions and other interactions with gay and lesbian voters across the state, I am more convinced than ever before that as we seek to establish full equality for America’s gays and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent,” Romney wrote in the letter.

The AP also notes however, that during that same campaign, Romney also stated his personal opposition to abortion, but said he would not seek to change state abortion laws. As proof, he cited his mother’s own 1970 candidacy for the U.S. Senate as an abortion rights supporter.

Al Gore chases Oscar nod, possible 2008 bid

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The Associated Press notes that Al Gore is waging a fierce campaign for recognition and an Oscar statuette for his global warming documentary, while reviving talk that he’s pursuing a bigger prize: the presidency.

Suspicion is arising over his recent itinerary that is making him “high profile” such as making self-deprecating jokes on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” offering ideas on preserving the environment to Oprah Winfrey and her daytime audience (Oprah thanked him for being the country’s “Noah”) and batting questions on Iraq from Matt Lauer on the “Today” show.

Traveling the country to promote the DVD version of Inconvinient Truth — just in time for holiday gift-giving — Gore insists that he’s not planning a return to politics…

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“I am not planning to run for president again,” Gore said last week, arguing that his focus is raising public awareness about global warming and its dire effects. Then, he added: “I haven’t completely ruled it out.”

Those words make Gore the 800-pound non-candidate of the Democratic field. The possibility of another presidential bid delights many Democrats still steamed over the disputed 2000 election, in which they argue a few more votes, a state other than Florida and a different Supreme Court could have put Gore, not George W. Bush, in the White House.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the front-runner, but a polarizing one for some Democrats. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is the electrifying newcomer, but limited in his experience. Gore remains, for many party activists, the Democrat and popular vote-getter done wrong.

“He won the election in 2000 — he just lost the (electoral) count,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler said. “If I were he, I wouldn’t rule out a run. It’s an uncertain field, and he’s a person who is widely respected.”

In many respects, Gore is better positioned for a political comeback than in his previous bids.

Hillary Clinton hires faith consultant for potential presidential campaign

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The following is a portion of a report by Robert Marus from ABP News:

Following a trend of Democrats becoming more faith-friendly, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has hired a Baptist “faith guru” for her expected 2008 presidential campaign. Burns Strider, who has been the head of religious outreach for the House Democratic Caucus since 2005, will join Clinton’s campaign staff, according to the Hotline. The online daily is the politics arm of the National Journal, one of Washington’s oldest political publications.

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Strider, a native of Mississippi, was raised Southern Baptist. He and his family now attend Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Washington. Clinton, a lifelong Methodist, has become more open in recent years about her faith. She is part of an exclusive women’s prayer group — many of whose members are the wives of prominent conservatives — that she joined while she was First Lady.

She also joined a Senate prayer group after she was elected to the Senate in 2000. Although rarely publicized, generations of Congress members have been involved in several bipartisan prayer and Bible-study groups.

Polls list Clinton as the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. She may have to run against other candidates who emphasize their faith.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is also mulling a presidential run, has made multiple appearances discussing his Congregationalist faith. He was recently a featured speaker at an AIDS conference convened by Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Rick Warren.

According to The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, Obama has also assigned a staffer to faith outreach. In addition, other Democratic and progressive groups have begun to focus staff members on outreach to religious voters — many of whom had abandoned the party in the past 20 years. That trend showed some reversal, however, during the recent midterm congressional elections.

Related: Its OKAY to Mix Religion And Politics -If Your Sen Obama…

Giuliani Taps RNC’s DuHaime for 2008 Team

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Conservative magazine Newsmax reports that former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has named Michael DuHaime, political director of the Republican National Committee, to head his presidential exploratory committee.

DuHaime headed political operations for the RNC this year and served as a regional political director for President Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004, the New York Sun reports.

Last week Giuliani hired Sandra Pack, another top official from Bush’s re-election campaign, to become the chief financial officer of his exploratory committee.

Giuliani filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in November to set up his committee, which allows him to raise money and travel the country to gauge support for a presidential bid without formally declaring himself a candidate.

In addition to Giuliani, GOP Senators John McCain of Arizona and Sam Brownback of Kansas have also formed exploratory committees.

The hiring of DuHaime, 33, comes several days after McCain met in New York with dozens of party donors from the former mayor’s backyard, the Sun notes – including some who have contributed to Giuliani in the past.