(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Rudy Giuliani remains the most popular presidential contender for Republican Party supporters in the United States, according to a poll by Opinion Research Corporation released by CNN. 27 per cent of respondents would vote for the former New York City mayor in a 2008 primary. Arizona senator John McCain is a close second with 24 per cent, followed by actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson with 11 per cent, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with 10 per cent, and former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich with eight per cent.
The headline practically wrote itself: “Romney Endorses Hitler’s Energy Policy.” At least that’s what I told a flack from a rival campaign who was pushing the story of an odd remark the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, made yesterday during a speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council, in McLean, Va. “I’m afraid building a nuclear power plant in our country today would require us first to hire the French to show us how to do it because they’ve been building ‘em and we haven’t,” Mr. Romney said in response to a question about energy policy during his talk, as captured on video by the Washington Post’s politics Web log.
Liberal MoveOn says that it will go up with a TV ad in Iowa and New Hampshire next week that takes John McCain to task for the “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” comment he jokingly made earlier this week. The ad — which comes at a buy of $100,000 and is already posted on YouTube — goes: “America has lived through six years of a reckless foreign policy. We’re stuck in Iraq. More than 3,000 Americans are dead. And thousands more wounded. Now comes John McCain with his answer to what we should do about Iran.” The ad then plays McCain’s “Bomb, bomb” comment, and it concludes: “John McCain? We can’t afford another reckless president.” The McCain campaign quickly responded to the ad: “It comes as no surprise that America’s most liberal interest group would attack John McCain’s belief that we cannot allow Iran to destroy Israel,” said spokesman Matt David. “After all, MoveOn.org posted ads comparing President Bush to Hitler during the last presidential election.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Energized Democratic White House candidates raised about $23.6 million more than Republicans in the first quarter, in what could be an ominous sign for President George W. Bush’s party in 2008. They scooped up some $78.8 million, well ahead of the Republican presidential hopefuls who brought in $55.1 million. Democrats tapped Wall Street, law firms and Hollywood to show they have broad support and help fund expensive campaigns in states that hold nominating contests next year. Continua a leggere »
Can John McCain become the new “Comeback Kid”? At 70 years old, he seems an unlikely candidate for the moniker, which Bill Clinton famously gave himself in the 1992 campaign. But McCain and his strategists argue that the old soldier is again on the march and will gradually surge back into serious contention for the Republican presidential nomination. Their battle plan is in place. Continua a leggere »
Despite Mitt Romney’s early fundraising lead among his GOP rivals, the former Massachusetts governor and Rudy Giuliani each reported Friday nearly equal amounts of cash available to spend for the presidential primaries. Romney said he has nearly $11.9 million available. Giuliani has nearly $11 million in cash, according to his first-quarter campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission. (USA Today) Continua a leggere »
A flurry of money and polling upended the Republican presidential field during the first three months of the year. A little known former governor is now the GOP’s leading fundraiser. The party’s presumed front-runner is fighting to stay in the leaders’ pack. And a sharp-elbowed New Yorker with liberal social views is leading the popularity contest. (The Guardian) Continua a leggere »
If former Senator Fred Thompson decides to make a stab at winning the presidency next year he’s better put on his climbing shoes. He’ll be faced with scaling some pretty high walls to get there. He’s already begun to climb a very high one: questions about his health raised by his admission that he has lymphoma, a form of skin cancer that in his case is said to be latent and non-aggressive. (Cagle Cartoons) Continua a leggere »
In the latest sign of difficulty for his presidential bid, Senator McCain is cutting some staff positions from his campaign as part of a restructuring effort that follows a disappointing start in fund raising. The campaign would not say how many reductions are taking place, but the changes do not involve senior aides to the Arizona Republican. The total campaign operation now numbers more than 120 people, and an aide emphasized that the cuts would not hit key political and communications operations. The shifts also include restructuring consultant contracts. (New York Sun) Continua a leggere »
Mitt Romney, whose presidential campaign leads the Republican primary field in fund-raising, spent nearly 60 percent of the $20.7 million he raised in the first quarter, setting a breakneck pace for the start of the 2008 race. Rudolph Giuliani, the runner-up in fund-raising among the Republicans, spent more than 40 percent of the $13.8 million his campaign brought in, leaving both candidates with roughly the same amount in the bank as of the beginning of April. (International Herald Tribune)
