Posted by
Tonewah on Thursday, January 24, 2008 2:21:00 AM
I am very much looking forward to the GOP debate tonight. The Florida primary has the possiblility to make footnotes out of frontrunners. This is the last chance the candidates have to point up differences, strengths and weaknesses before the state holds it's primary next week. It promises to be a good debate, and, no doubt, entertaining.
With the exit of Fred Thompson, the second Thompson to bow out of the GOP primary, the field is narrowed to 5 candidates running national campaigns. 2 of them, Huckabee and Giuliani, are reported to be out of money, asking aides to work for free. A 3rd, McCain, has had money problems practically since his campaign began. For McCain and Giuliani, Florida is a must win, for Huckabee, perhaps a swan song.
Romney keeps moving, buying votes as quickly as he can. Florida probably wouldn't end his race, unless he comes in dead last with a zero by his percentage mark. Even then, I feel he'd be willing to finance himself through the convention.
Paul, on the other hand, continues to rake in money from his supporters, to the tune of millions a day, whenever they decide he needs a boost. He could probably be financed until November, no matter who gets the GOP nomination, should he choose to keep his name in the hat. As far as buzz goes, Paul is the only candidate generating any new buzz for himself. The four candidates dubbed 'front-runners' by the media have failed to build on their momentum, even after winning the traditional early primarys and caucuses.
With the near media blackout of Paul, time may be his biggest enemy. Super Tuesday is right around the corner and many die-hard Republican faithful still haven't heard his message. Instead, they have had to rely on the media, who have failed to cover him, giving more time to his rivals.
It will be very interesting to see what strategy the candidates employ, tonight. Which candidate will atttack, on what basis, etc... I'm very excited.