Candidates couldn’t ask for better weather. Here in Florida, the temp should rise into the lower 70s and the landscape gleams like a picture postcard for anyone planning to head to the polls.
Media is pre-occupied primarily with Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. The New York Times says Democratic Party members are winning the enthusiasm contest, expressing strong preference for their candidates and turning out in early primary states in record numbers. Note my inability to write about the Dem candidates in detail—they’re basically boycotting Florida except for Sen. Clinton’s upscale fundraisers and those aren’t public.
Every election process has an undercurrent, and to me, the acrimony between GOP frontrunners Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain makes for good reading. McCain has endorsements multiplying like Abraham’s children—Florida governor Charlie Crist, 10 newspapers, 4 mayors and a host of other supporters. McCain’s Web site has its own “supporters” and “endorsements” section. Romney has the magazine founded by conservative godfather Bill Buckley, National Review, and he also has influential bloggers like Ed Morrissey at Captain’s Quarters. Comparing each candidate, Morrissey concluded, “I think, though, that Romney has the most staying power, the better argument, and the best resume of the remaining Republican candidates. I will enthusiastically caucus for Mitt Romney on February 5th."...
Mayor Rudy Giuliani finally got around to tackling media, but in the opinion of many including myself, it’s too little too late. Gov. Mike Huckabee is challenged with making his brand rise to the level of McCain and Romney. He’s proven he can come from behind and pull the rug out from under a candidate’s feet, but the evangelical contingent doesn’t dominate Florida as it does some other states. Huckabee’s message is really broader than the evangelical script, but it hasn’t been widely disseminated, at least not to the saturation point the two top contenders have achieved. Congressman Ron Paul is doing the grassroots strategy that's proved so beneficial in fundraising. My daughter came home from classes yesterday and she said every car in the parking lots at college was plastered with Ron Paul brochures.
I can make one prediction comfortably. Anyone interested in politics will be watching results tonight here in Florida. There’s a lot more interest among Republicans than newspapers far removed from the man on the street can gauge. McCain says Romney has “no experience” dealing with Islamic radicals. Romney, who promotes his ability to improve the economy, says McCain has admitted the economy isn’t his “strong suit.”
The Wall Street Journal hit the situation with this pithy statement, pretty much summing up the lay of the tropical land: “Up for grabs is the corridor along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Daytona Beach, a swing area that has seen much growth and is home to roughly two-thirds of the Republican primary vote.”
This might sound redundant, but stay tuned.
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