POL / HUM: 2008 Presidential Election Over

[gstelmack]

Chuck Norris picks Republican Mike Huckabee

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...ial-candidate/

[JPhillips]

On a serious note, Huckabee is a serious candidate.

I'll make my bold prediction now: Mike Huckabee will be the Republican nominee for President.

I'll also add that he's the best choice for defeating Hillary.

[bulletsponge]

id prefer Chuck to run

[st.cronin]

You rock, rock!

[larrymcg421]

In an Oct. 7 poll, Hillary had a 50-36 edge on Huckabee, which was bigger than her advantage against anyone else.

Hillary and Giuliani are running neck and neck.An Oct. 14 poll showed hillary with a 49-47 lead, which is about where it's been for a while.

[JPhillips]

I know the polls don't say it yet, but Huckabee is very strong. I suspect some of the disparity in the polls is that his name recognition is fairly low right now. He's as social conservative as they come, but his domestic policies will blunt some of the impact of Hillary's positions and he's terrific on the stump. He can come off as caring in a way that is reminiscent of Bill Clinton.

Huckabee is gaining a lot of momentum in Iowa now that Brownback has withdrawn. He also ran away with the on-site voters at the FRC forum this weekend. I think he's solidifying himself as the social conservative choice for GOP voters uncomfortable with Giuliani's pro-choice stance and Romney's Mormonism.

I worry about Huckabee more than any other GOP candidate. Once his name recognition goes up and people see/hear him he'll be very difficult to defeat. I'll be very happy if he doesn't make it out of the primaries.

[Jas_lov]

Huckabee is a great speaker, but the biggest problem he has is that he has no money! Go to his website and see how much he's raised so far this quarter. $266,000. Pathetic! He only raised $1 million last quarter and seems to be on pace for a little more than that this quarter. If he lacks name recognition then good luck running a national wide campaign on a million bucks. I think he's just in the race to get his name in the hat for VP. His only shot is in Iowa and if he doesn't win there he's finished, even with a Chuck Norris endorsement.

[vex]

Huckabee is my choice since Brownback is gone.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

Huckabee is a great speaker, but the biggest problem he has is that he has no money!

True, but remember that a lot of Republican donors have been sitting on the sidelines so far. There is untapped money there if/when a frontrunner emerges. Now, whether he will be able to convince people that he is a viable enough candidate to get the money without using the money is another question.

I'm not saying that he can overcome the lack of funds--just that things are not quite as bad as they seem vis a vis $$.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

Huckabee is a great speaker, but the biggest problem he has is that he has no money! Go to his website and see how much he's raised so far this quarter. $266,000. Pathetic! He only raised $1 million last quarter and seems to be on pace for a little more than that this quarter. If he lacks name recognition then good luck running a national wide campaign on a million bucks. I think he's just in the race to get his name in the hat for VP. His only shot is in Iowa and if he doesn't win there he's finished, even with a Chuck Norris endorsement.

This is one of the big reasons why our system is so screwed up right now. Unless a candidate has name recognition, they cannot run and hope to win. I would prefer to go back to the convention system, because that would help balance the field and would actually spark debate, rather than some of the low discussion coronations we've had.

[clintl]

I think Huckabee is the Republicans' best and most likeable candidate. And that they won't nominate him.