IT WAS A GRAND OLD PARTY
We had some problems this weekend with the blog but we have worked them all out. Post away.
I spent most of this weekend attending the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference. It’s a gathering of Republicans from across the Midwest where they talk issues and strategy and get visits from presidential candidates. The last time it was held in Indianapolis George W. Bush paid a visit. This year it was Former Senator Fred Thompson, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
I had the opportunity to talk to each of the candidates and on the fundamentals. There really isn’t that much difference. They all believe the United States should not pull out of Iraq until the job is done. They also believe in cutting taxes and they are “pro-family.”
Where the candidates distinguished themselves is in style and presentation. I found former Governor Romney to come across as someone who understood the issues from an analytical perspective, but he didn’t quite seem to have that ability to make an emotional connection. He came across as “programmed optimistic.”
Thompson suffered from the curse of high expectations. Although he hasn’t formally declared, he pretty much has. His campaign has been plagued with rumors of disorganization, which he acknowledged some mistakes had been made, but attributed that to a “changing of the rules.” There was also some private griping by GOP insiders about his staff and how they treated some of the Indiana delegation.
He did seem a little more frail than what I was expecting; the curse of watching him on “Law and Order.” And his speech at the Saturday night dinner, while touching on typical Republican themes, didn’t quite seem to deliver the punch I thought it would and really fire up the crowd.
Governor Huckabee was actually the dark horse in this race and performed better than expected. While behind Newt Gingrich in the latest polls, he did one thing the other two front runners didn’t quite do: really make a connection. Of the three candidates, Huckabee seemed the most relaxed. Huckabee began his morning talking to the press. When he entered the room, he shook every reporter’s hand, and then was relaxed and genial answering their questions. He took every question that the press corps had, and his answers were folksy, yet detailed. On the other hand, Romney and Thompson have begun to play President. They walked in with several aids, which cut off questioning after a few moments. But Huckabee seemed to enjoy fielding questions from the press, signing autographs in the lobby of the hotel, and speaking to a crowd of 500. A number of delegates told me that they felt inspired after listening to him. They weren’t quite ready to make the commitment, but they were willing to give him a second look.
Another interesting note was during a media panel I sat on the audience was asked how many of them were still looking for a candidate to support; about 80 percent of them raised their hands. Some people think that it’s a bad thing that the Republicans haven’t coalesced around a front-runner. I don’t. I think there is something wrong when 15 months before a Presidential election the winner is already chosen. That’s how you run elections in third world countries. Candidates should have to work for voter support. They should have to shake hands, kiss babies and eat a lot of rubber chicken and peas at political functions. It’s the least they can do in exchange for your vote. And whomever wants the GOP nomination for President is going to have to do a lot of that.
WXNT Producer Christopher Spangle contributed to this report.
