Saying Goodbye for Now....

Well my schedule has made me ignore posting now for awhile, and I am not giving this site the attention it deserves so I will hang it up until further notice, but someday soon I hope to be back! After thousands of hits, hundreds of posts and so many honors Politics-Central will officially end until further notice!

Thanks to you the readers! This site never would have been what was without you!

Decision 2008: General Election Power Rankings #1

Well we finally have the first edition of the General Election Power Rankings. We haven't ranked since Super Tuesday with only 3 candidates remaining, however we are prepared to analyse the General Election, but with the Democratic Stalamte, I will include both candidates against John McCain.

General Election Match-Up
1st: Republican: John McCain (rising) McCain's general election numbers have nowhere to go but up. His resources may be dried up, but with the Democrats battling for the nomination heating up, McCain has had the spotlight and the time to pick a running mate, and re-unite his party. McCain has done so, and has steamed ahead. National Polls may show McCain tied against Obama but in the battleground states, McCain leads in PA, FL, Ohio, MI, WI, NJ, and I even saw a poll that had the Democratic state of Massachusetts. McCain certainly has the advantage now.

2nd: Democratic: Barack Obama (falling) Obama may be rising in primary polls, but this bitter fight with Clinton has allowed him to fall 5 points nationally and is now tied with McCain nationally. Obama is behind in key states such as Fl, OH, and PA, and usual Democratic Safe zones such as NJ, MA, CT, and Michigan show the race close. Obama is strong in the west holding on to leads in California, and he holds slim leads in WA, OR, NV, NM, and CO. If Obama can swing these western states, win either Ohio and Florida and hold onto key democratic states he will be our next president.

3rd: Democratic: Hillary Clinton (falling) Clinton fairs better in key battleground states against McCain and I feel she is more electable than Obama. She leads McCain in Ohio, and PA, and holds onto the Democratic Northeast. She trails in the west, and maybe she will need to hit California with new polls suggesting McCain gaining on her there, but with wins in OH and PA she could win the White House. The Midwest leans McCain in MI, WI, and MN and both Democrats need to work on that.

Here are our Battleground States as of April 5th. Obama vs. McCain
Safe GOP 157
ID 4
UT 5
MT 3
AZ 10
TX 34
OK 7
KS 6
SD 3
ND 3
LA 9
MS 6
AL 9
GA 15
TN 11
NC 15
IN 11
AK 3

Leans GOP 83
NE 5
MO 11
AR 6
VA 13
WV 5
KY 8
FL 27
SC 8

Overall GOP: 240 Electoral Votes

Safe DEM 75
IL 22
NY 31
MD 10
DE 3
RI 4
VT 3
DC 3

Leans DEM 93
HI 4
ME 4
MA 12
CA 55
CT 7
WA 11

Overall DEM 168 Electoral Votes

Tossups 130
WA 11
OR 7
NV 5
CO 9
NM 5
IA 7
MN 10
WI 10
MI 17
OH 20
PA 21
NJ 15
NH 4

Decision 2008: Can Hillary hold on?

There have been several calls for Former Dem. Nominee to be, Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race, because many see her having no chance of winning and if she does she will tear the party apart at the convention. Senator Clinton must win Pennsylvania and do it abouve expectations, and with Sen. Barack Obama closing the gap in the state, the pressure will be on for her to drop out, should she narrowly win the state. If she loses she will be forced out of the race. Hillary if hoping for a win in PA, and win in Indiana, Kentucky, W. Virginia, Oregon and North Carolin. If she does Barack will be in trouble with the momentum clearly in her corner. All Obama has to do is win North Carolina, and make it close in PA, and the nomination is his for the taking. He will win the western caucuses of South Dakota, and Montana in a walk, and he should be up by 1000 delegates after the primaries. Then the Superdelegates will be pressured to make a decision and the party wants them to choose the African American, over the women, because of his lead in overal popular votes. Clinton needs a win in PA, and Michigan and Florida to be seated at the convention. I bet Clinton win PA, and stays in till the convention

Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember what he did for us......

Gone until April!

My Schedule has forced me to delay posting until April. Seeing as the political news is limited recently, besides the denial of the Michigan and Florida Re-votes Ill post again in April before PA, and give up to the minute details of the Democratic Battle.

Decision 2008: Obama vs. Clinton, VP Romney? Spitzer resigns

Sorry for the delayed posting, but here is another 2008 update: U.S.

Democrats: Senator Hillary Clinton moves on from two more losses in Wyoming and Mississippi, after her wins in TX and OH. Clinton trails Sen. Barack Obama now by 131 delegates. The campaign now moves to Pennsylvania, the last delegate rich contest in this season. Clinton needs a win there to drive this race into the summer, and possibly into convention where her campaign feels she can win in. Early polls have Clinton leading Obama by double digits in PA, but as we have seen in past races Obama can surely comeback. The race afterwards will go into North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, and Oregon and possibly do-over primaries and caucuses in Florida and Michigan.

Republicans: Whispers our now afoot that Mitt Romney is being considered as Presumptive Nominee John McCain's running mate as he has stated he is interested. McCain states he is a possibility but it is too early too tell. As we all know the two were bitter rivals in the primary race.

Spitzer: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer in the wake of his prositute sex scandal, is set to resign Monday, with Lt. Governor David Paterson, to succeed him as Governor. Spitzer was a prominent rising star in the party with a huge electoral victory in Nov. of 2006. Spitzer will step down after only holding the office of Governor for 1 1/2 years. Spitzer was known prior to the scandal as "Mr. Clean" for his years as Attorney General and busting corruption on Wall Street.

Decision 2008: John McCain wins the Republican Nomination, Dems continue.

U.S. Senator John McCain has officially won the Republican Nomination for President of the United States recieving officially 1,195 delegates 4 more than the total needed to clinch the nomination. McCain entered the race, a frontrunner, fell to also-ran near dead status and with wins in NH, SC, and FL he was able to secure the nomination. Fmr. Governor Mike Huckabee has officially withdrawn his candidacy for president and endoresed John McCain. This comes after loses to McCain in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island. Following his victory for the nomination, President of the United States, George W. Bush is reported to tomorrow hand over the leadership of the Republican Party to this party's new nominee. Congrats to Sen. McCain. As you know this site has for a year now been supporting his candidacy and after a roller coaster ride is excited to continue to support him till November. On the Democratic Side, Sen. Barack Obama has won Vermont, and Sen. Hillary Clinton has won Rhode Island, but it is too close to call in Ohio and Texas with less than 15% reporting in btoh. Huge turnout in all 4 states. Hillary holds a double digit lead in Ohio, while Obama leads by single digits in Texas. Both could go either way according to polls, and we will have to wait till the morning probably. I'm leaving town for Washington D.C. so I won't have any posts for the results until I get back Sunday.

Taking a Break!

After the long Primary season and my week hiatus I will take a break for a while and will post next week!

Decision 2008: Our Endorsements!

Well with the Election year in full swing Politics-Central has decided to release its endorsements for the campaign as of now.

Endorsements:
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for President of the United States
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) for U.S. Senator
U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) for U.S. Senator
Cynthia Lummis for Wyoming's Lone U.S. House Seat
Mike Johanns for U.S. Senator
Lane Startin for Idaho Governor
U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) for U.S. Senator
Jim Risch for U.S. Senator
Chris Peden for Texas U.S. House District #14
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts for U.S. Senator
Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) for U.S. Senator
Roy Brown for Montana Governor
U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) for U.S. Senator

More to come later on in the 2008 Campaign.

Decision 2008: McCain and Obama sweep Potomac Primaries

Yesterday, Senators McCain and Obama won the Republican and Democratic Primaries. Both won convincingly. McCain emerged victorious in DC and Maryland by wide margins . Huckabee surged to a close 2nd in VA, but all the states delegates went into Sen. McCain's column, for his win there. Obama surged into the lead among delegates, with huge victories in all 3 contests over Sen. Clinton. He now leads in states, popular votes, polls, and delegates officially winning the title for the first time, frontrunner. Will it hold? We'll find out in next Tuesdays Hawaii and Wisconsin Primaries. McCain and Obama are favored in both contests.

Decision 2008: Obama sweeps 4 contests, Huckabee wins big surprises.

Well Sen. Barack Obama is well on his way to becoming the frontrunner for the nomination and could be the very first candidate to defeat the Clinton Machine. He wins Washington, Nebraska Louisana and Maine contests over the weekend by huge margins. He now has Sen. Clinton's delegate lead including Superdelegates down to 3-30. Some have him leading. If Hillary is relying on the Superdelegates she may still yet come up short. Hillary now has must wins. A first for her. She must win Ohio, Texas and PA. If she loses more than 2 of those contests Obama will surge to the nomination. This is still a very close race, but Obama will surge into the lead, tomorrow by winning all 3 contests tomorrow. Fmr. Governor Mike Huckabee sweeped 2 contests in Kansas and Louisiana, stunning GOP Presumptive Nominee John McCain when he only narrowly carried Washington state. But before we get too carried away there is still no plausible scenerio where Huckabee overtakes McCain unless all of the Romney deleagtes swing his way, and he wins all of the remaining contests. McCain still will shortly secure the nomination. McCain picked up however a huge conservative endorsement this week, Fmr. Florida Governor, Undeclared Romney Supporter and Brother of the President, Jeb Bush united behind McCain, after President Bush said conservatives need to rally behind the nominee. McCain is leading Huckabee in polls in VA, DC, and MAryland and will likely win all three putting him ever so close to that magic number of clinching the nomination. On March 4th, I look for McCain to officially clinch the nomination for the Republicans.

Decision 2008: McCain's Veepstakes

As the Republican race for president comes to close, the race to be the name below John McCain's is on the ballot and the campaign signs begins. John McCain has secured the nomination for the Republicans and now he needs a Vice Presidential Running Mate here is our list of the choices we feel McCain may consider on his short list.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
South Carolina Governor Mike Sanford
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
U.S. Senator John Thune
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham
Former MA Governor Mitt Romney
Fmr. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
Fmr. U.S. Senator Phil Gramm
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback
U.S. Senator Richard Burr
Florida Governor Charlie Crist
U.S. Senator Mel Martinez
U.S. Congressman Mike Pence
Fmr. U.S. Senator George Allen
Fmr. U.S. Senator Fred Thompson
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn

Long Shots
U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman
Fmr. Governor Jeb Bush
U.S. Senator Kay Hutchison
Fmr. NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Fmr. U.S. Sec. of State Colin Powell

I'm hoping for a McCain/Huckabee ticket or a McCain/Thune Ticket, but Im sure I will be satiffied with whoever Sen. McCain chooses as his running mate, just as long a John McCain is the next president of the United States.

Descision 2008: Thank Mitt! Gov. Romney departs Presidential Bid, giving McCain the ticket to the General

Today Former MA Governor Mitt Romney, who once was the frontrunner for the nomination, ended his campaign for the GOP Presidential Nomination. This comes after putting forward a strong campaign for the nomination raising millions of dollars, 200+ delegates, and winning 10 contests. At the CPAC he gave his concession speech and decided he should step aside stating he wanted the party to unite for the good of the nation. He didn't endorse any candidate, but after spending millions of his own money and no winning scenerio left, he has decided to quit. Romney is rumored to be considering another bid for the presidency in 4 to 8 years, however he better get back into politics if he wished for this to happen. Nonetheless he is a frontrunner should McCain lose this November. Romney's withdrawal has nearly given John McCain the title of Presumptive Nominee and a ticket to the General Election this November. Now all thats left is McCain's veepstakes. Huckabee has no shot at the nomination and will withdraw shortly giving McCain the official title of Presumptive Nominee. After being trounced this weekend it wont be long until he withdraws.

Decision 2008: Post Super Tuesday Results, McCain surges, Hillary vs. Obama.

Well Yesterday was an exciting night, and the exit polls were wrong and my predictions were off yeah I know by alot. Well after half the nation has voted where do we stand now in the race for the presidency?

The Republicans: It wasn't the McCain sweep I had expected, but it was enough to make him unstoppable. McCain won all of the big winner take all delegate states, and the all important California Primary. That should be hard to overcome. Huckabee really surprised me. I thought he woudl only win Arkansas but he won all of ther Southern states, and crushed Romney's hopes. Romney did score wins in the rural caucus states and his homestate of MA, but nothing convincing enough to win the nomination, but enough for him to calim he can go on and write more checks to himself. Spend as much money as you can Romney this will do no good with party unity, when McCain does officially clinch the nomination which isn't too far off. McCain is likely to sweep Washington and Louisiana, but Kansas is another rural caucus, Romney could sweep, because of conservative support, but I still feel McCain is going to sweep almost every contest remaining.

The Democrats: Obama's momentum pulled off to win 13 states several of which were in Clinton territory. He didn't pull off a win in California, but Obama was able to pull off big wins in, GA, AL, MO, and CT. All 4 except GA were expected to go to Hillary 2 weeks ago. Hillary remains about 100 delegates ahead because she won the bigger contests, however Obama is looking pretty good in the upcoming schedule. He will probably win most if not all the contests on Saturday and on Tuesday and could catch Hillary by next week. It is looking to be a long Democratic contest battle to the nomination. I doubt we wont have this resolved until April or there is now a strong possibility this could go to convention, but I bet one candidate will clinch with just 2 candidates remaining. Coming out of this race Obama is hoping to sweep the smaller contests and hope that will keep his momentum going to win Texas and Ohio in March and PA in April. Howewer Hillary will be focusing on those big states and has an advantage there currently. This race could go either way

Delegate Counts

(Super Tuesday delegates still being tallied)

Republicans (1,191 to win)

(R)John McCain 680

(R)Mitt Romney 270

(R)Mike Huckabee 176

(R)Ron Paul 16

Democrats (2,025 to win)

(D)Hillary Clinton 818

(D)Barack Obama 730

(D)John Edwards 26

Decision 2008: Super Tuesday Eve

Well as the campaign winds down the all-important Super Tuesday is finally here, and the height of the race has come. We may very well know the nominees tomorrow or this race will march on. We are certain however that tomorrow no one will officially clinch the nominations of either party.

On the Republican Side, Sen. John McCain leads everywhere and should sweep at least 14 states, but he does need to win California, and he likely will. I doubt the voters of CA would switch votes to man who has no chance of winning this state, than to vote for aman wh can win CA. Huckabee is hoping for wins in AR, MO, OK, GA and AL, but will likely only get about one win out of that and its his homestate. McCain appears to be well on his way to getting the force enough to cap this thing. If he wins California which he likely will, McCain will be officially unstoppable. Romney needs wins in the South and in CA, to actually officially make a 2-man race.

On the Democrats Side, Sen. Hillary Clinton has dramatically at the last minute fell in the polls and the race is a dead heat everywhere. National polls are tied. CA Polls lean Obama, but it coudl go either way. Hillary needs to upset Obama in the South and hold onto CA, to become the clear frontrunner again, but I doubt she can do both. This race will likely go on until March when Ohio and Texas decide, or maybe even in April when PA decides. This is the most interesting race in a long long long time, but with Edwards out this will not go to convention. Some one will have enough delegates to clinch the nomination.

My Overall Primary Predictions:

Sen. John McCain vs. Sen. Hillary Clinton for the right to become the 44th President of the United States.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #50

These will be our final Presidential Power Rankings for this election season. Ill post General Election Rankings after the conventions. After 50 rankings here is how we stand:

Republicans:

1st: John McCain (rising) McCain now is officially crowned GOP frontrunner with big win out of Florida. McCain now rides the winds of ths win into Super Tuesday where he leads in most polls in almost every state. McCain is now inching closer to capping this thing, and we crown him nominee-to-be. I see no scenerio where McCain doesn't win the nomination for the Republicans.

2nd: Mitt Romney (falling) Doing well in the debate tonight, but it was more of just for show. Romney is too far behind and trails in too many states to win the nomination unless something huge happens causing McCain too slip, but that is very unlikely.

3rd: Mike Huckabee (steady) Could win one or two states in the South next week, but he doesn't have the startegy or the money to continue much farther than Super Tuesday. he'll stay in to steal votes from Romney and to be a VP running mate.

4th: Ron Paul (falling) Paul isn't showing any support above 5% now and is support is slipping quickly. Congressman Paul is running a spoiler campaign just with alot of money nothing more.

Democrats:

1st: Hillary Clinton (falling) Hillary is slipping, with the momentum again in Obama's corner however she still holds leads in Super Tuesday states. Clinton's national lead is slipping, but I still see her as the frontrunner, and the advantage is in her corner.

2nd: Barack Obama (rising) Obama is rising, but he has a wide gap to close and only in 6 days. Obama could pick up a lot of delegates and I won't count Obama out until Texas and Ohio on March 4th, where I bete Obama can do well in.

Super Tuesday Predictions (final predictions on 2/4)
Republicans
Alabama: McCain wins, Huckabee 2nd
Alaska: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Arizona: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Arkansas: Huckabee wins, McCain 2nd
California: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Colorado: Toss-Up between McCain and Romney
Connecticut: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Delaware: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Georgia: McCain wins, Huckabee 2nd
Illionis: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Massachusetts: Romney wins, McCain 2nd
Minnesota: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
Missouri: McCain wins, Huckabee 2nd
New Jersey: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
New York: McCain wins, Romney 2nd
North Dakota: Toss-up No Polling???
Oklahoma: McCain wins, Huckabee 2nd
Tennessee: McCain wins, Huckabee 2nd
Utah: Romney wins, McCain 2nd
West Virginia: McCain wins, Romney 2nd

States to watch: CA, MO, CO, AL, OK, GA, TN

Democrats
Alabama: Obama wins, Clinton 2nd
Alaska: Clinton wins, Obama 2n:d
Arizona: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd
Arkansas: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

California: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Colorado: Obama wins, Clinton 2nd

Connecticut: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Delaware: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Georgia: Obama wins, Clinton 2nd

Idaho: Obama wins, Clinton 2nd,

(Lane Startin persuaded me otherwise in this state)

Illionis: Obama wins, Obama 2nd

Kansas: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Massachusetts: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Minnesota: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Missouri: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

New Jersey: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

New Mexico: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

New York: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

North Dakota: No Polling???

Oklahoma: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Tennesee: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

Utah: Clinton wins, Obama 2nd

States to watch: AL, CA, MA, CO, CT

Decision 2008: Governor Schwarzenegger to endorse John McCain

Right before the Super Tuesday primaries in which California will hold its primary, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will endorse John McCain for President Thursday. The Governor had been neutral in most of the race, however he has chosen to support McCain before this crucial primary or the crown jewel of the primaries, California. Polls right now have McCain leading by double digits in California and now with Giuliani and Schwarzenegger's endorsements, McCain can not put New York and California the biggest primaries in the election in his pocket. Also tonight the candidates debated and we saw the most vicious feud between Romney and McCain. Romney was trying to close the gap of McCain's huge lead and advantage coming into Super Tuesday. This debate really had no effect although Romney did seem to benefit from their feud. As we approach Super Tuesday I will post my power rankings, and predictions for which states will go for which candidae. (Note: I haven't been wrong on official predictions of contests yet.) Oh yeah and Super Bowl predictions,GO PATS!!!!!!

Decision 2008: John Edwards withdraws.

Former North Carolina U.S. Senator John Edwards is set to withdraw his candidacy for President of the United States after disappointing finishes in all of the early contests. Edwards was the first Democrat to enter the race in December of 2006, and entered a leading contender for the nomination following a previous presidential campaign, and being the Democrats's 2004 Vice Presidential Candidate. Edwards finished 2nd in Iowa and needed a win there, and finished no better fir the rest of the campaign. Many suspected he would stay in until the convention to be the King or Queen maker. Edwards isn't endorsing any candidate at the moment, and probably won't for awhile, but I suspect he leans towards Obama.

Decision 2008: Rudy Giuliani to withdraw and endorse McCain.

After a disappointing finish in FL, in which he was expected to win months ago, America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani is withdrawing his candidacy for President reportedly and endorsing John McCain for President. Rudy Giuliani who once led the polls nationally and was the frontrunner, will be ending a campaign that was more disappointing than the others. He wanted a win tonight and needed it badly now that he is trailing in NY. Giuliani's strategy since the beginning was to skip the early states and win FL and Super Tuesday. After losing all the early states quite hadnily his numbers slipped quickly. This will likely solidly deliver McCain the Northeast on Super Tuesday and he can put NY and NJ in his pocket. Giuliani now after losing all of the contests so far, he is withdrawing according to the AP, and endorsing McCain. Giuliani is rumored to be considered as a possible VP contender now with his campaign and political career seeming to be over after this sad night for his campaign.

Decision 2008: McCain wins Florida!

Well is there any doubt now that John McCain is the frontrunner for the nomination. McCain now with his win tonight leads, in votes, states, polls, and delegates. McCain is well on his way to the nomination and we are predicting the next Republican Nominee for President will be John McCain. McCain now goes on with wind in his sails and already a huge lead in Super Tuesday. Rumors are already afloat he will withdraw tomorrow and endorse McCain tomorrow. We''l have to wait and see as the candidate himself says he will participate tomorrow in the CNN Debate. Romney moves on severly hurt, but not completely dead. We'll see how long he fights McCain for the Nomination. Hillary Clinton won a beauty contest in Fl, by a wide margin but no deleagtes awarded so really it didn't matter.

Florida Republican Presidential Primary Results

(R)John McCain 693,508 36% 57 Delegates

(R)Mitt Romney 598,188 31%

(R)Rudy Giuliani 281,781 15%

(R)Mike Huckabee 259,735 14%

(R)Ron Paul 62,063 3%

(R)Fred Thompson 22,288 1%

(R)Duncan Hunter 2,787 0%

Florida Democratic Presidential Primary Results

(D)Hillary Clinton 857,208 50%

(D)Barack Obama 569,041 33%

(D)John Edwards 248,604 14%

(D)Dennis Kucinich 9,537 1%

Decision 2008: South Carolina and Florida.

Dems South Carolina:Well this weekend we have another contest for the Democrats, however this one is very crucial than the past Nevada. Polls have Barack Obama with a 7-22 point lead, but most show his lead slipping and Edwards is rising. Obama's support among white voters is gone which is surprising, since he carried Iowa and did well in NH, by winning the white votes because of the few minorities. Clinton is doing well and some have polls of her within single digits of the lead and if she can at least come within 10 she can spin that as a comeback and it will not hurt her standgins at all on Super Tuesday. Edwards needs a very strong finish, but I doubt he has the time to come in 2nd. He'll finish 3rd, but might break 20%. Our predictions, Obama will win by less than 7, Clinton close 2nd, Edwards not too far behind. Congressman Kucinich is dropping out of the race, so whatever support he had will go to Obama likely. Im kinda surprised I though Kucinich '04. would stay in the race till the convention liek he did in. He faces a tough re-election so that might have contributed.


GOP Florida: I'm getting really tired of this close races. I hopes there is a blowout, soon. This one 4-way race is now a 2-man race between guess who? John McCain and Mitt Romney. Who else. These two have been top rivals for most of the campaign and with this being their what well I guess 3rd 2-way race both 1 for 2. McCain held a small lead 3 days ago, however he and Romney our now deadlocked. 3 polls have McCain with a 2-5 point lead and 3 polls have Romney both with a 3-4 point lead. All the polls however show Giuliani slipping to a fight for 3rd, instead of first with Mike Huckabee. Giuliani needs a win here to continue. I expect McCain to eek out a narrow victory, but I wont count out the Mitt Machine as I have in the past. Either will be in 1st or 2nd, Giuliani 3rd, and Huckabee 4th. This will force Giulaini out, but surprisingly Huckabee still leads in some southern states such as Georgia, so I'm not willing to count him out. McCain leads in the Northeast, and whomever wins Florida may get a boost in CA where McCain currently leads. If McCain can hold on to the lead should he not win, he will be the nominee, and if wins FL, he will nearly clinch this thing on Super Tuesday. Romney needs a win here to make it an overall 2-way race.

Decision 2008: Fred Thompson withdraws

Today after a disappointing 3rd place finish in must-win South Carolina, Former U.S. Senator and Actor Fred Thompson withdrew his candidacy for President. Sen. Thompson at one time was the frontrunner for the Republicans over the summer, but of his funding, and very late start in the race hurt his chances significantly. His lazy campaiging also hurt his candidacy and his look as the only real conservative candidate in the race. Sen. Thompson's strongest finish in the race was a 2nd place finish in Wyoming, and he needed a win in South Carolina however came in a distant 3rd. Thompson hasn't yet endorsed any candidate at this time, however endrosed Sen. John McCain in 2000 and is expected to do so once again. Thompson's campaign in SC helped carry Sen. McCain to victory, drawing away evangelical votes from Mike Huckabee, and giving McCain a much needed win. Thompson is also mentioned as a possible VP candidate in the fall, but no sources have confirmed this.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #49: McCain vs. Clinton?

Iowa, NH, Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina for the GOP are done, and here is how the race is shaping up.

Republicans

1st: John McCain (rising) McCain emerged as the frontrunner with a win in SC. McCain has even picked up the surge yet in Florida from SC and he already leads there. His national lead and Super Tuesday state leads also remain strong. Unless there is a major upset in FL I can't see any other situation, but McCain winning the nomination. He still has a strong enough showing among the GOP and Independents to probably clinch the nomination not that long after Super Tuesday.

2nd: Mitt Romney (steady) Romney won NV in a landslide but no one really cares. he skipped the important SC primary and they showed him what happens when you do and dealt him the worst finish yet in the race. Romney needs an upset win in FL to win the nomination however that isn't likely. Romney is McCains only real challenger now.

3rd Tied: Rudy Giuliani (steady) Giuliani is still in the runnignf or hsi do or die state and if he wins there he can pull another comeback in this different race, however I think the nation is tired of comebacks and they will show that Rudy's poor finishings in the early states will kill his chances.

3rd Tied: Mike Huckabee (falling) He needed a win in SC to keep his lead in the South, but with that gone and his FL support diminshing his win in Iowa will likely be forgotten and McCain is looking to sweep the South on Super Tuesday with Huckabee severly wounded.

5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Thompson finished 3rd, but he needed a strong 2nd or a win in SC and he didn't get anywhere close, so I think its safe to say Thompson is out of the race.

Democrats

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Hillary is surging in SC and everywhere else and the Obama momentum has ended. Hillary did ahve to work for it, but if she finishes strong in SC, and wins FL plus big wins in Super Tuesday she can clinch this thing.

2nd: Barack Obama (steady) Obama needs a strong win in SC, too comeback to frontrunner status and win some states on Super Tuesday but its looking like Hillary has the advantage. Obama can't be counted out yet hwoever.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) I apologize. I actually thought Edwards could win Nevada when polls had him standing pretty good, in the upper twenties, but shows how you an't trust them. His 4% finsih did indeed kill whatever chance he had left. Edwards is now the King or Queen maker, and he could set himself up for a VP of cabinet position, if he sways his support the right way.

Other Candidates disqualified from rankings.

Decision 2008: McCain wins SC, Romney wins NV and Hillary wins NV

Well the big news of the evening is Senator John McCain who was left for dead over the summer, has emerged as the Republican Frontrunner and won the South Carolina Primary. McCain emerges after his triumphant win here to go into Florida where he already leads and close the deal or come close to it. McCain does face a challenge from the Nevada Caucus Winner today, Mitt Romney, however the caucus was minor and uncontested by the other candidates. Hillary Clinton surprised Obama's union endorsers and won the Democratic frontrunner spot, with a win in Nevada, and a strong chance to surprise us next week and shut down the Obama campaign. Obama leads in the polls in SC and McCain leads in Florida but will that hold? Congressman Duncan Hunter also exited the race for what its worth.


South Carolina GOP Presidential Primary Results 99% Reporting
(R)John McCain 143,224 33% 19 Delegates
(R)Mike Huckabee 128,908 30% 5 Delegates
(R)Fred Thompson 67,897 16%
(R)Mitt Romney 64,970 15%
(R)Ron Paul 15,773 4%
(R)Rudy Giuliani 9,112 2%
(R)Duncan Hunter 1,035 0%

Nevada GOP Presidential Caucus Results 100% Reporting
(R)Mitt Romney 22,649 51% 18 Delegates
(R)Ron Paul 6,087 14% 4 Delegates
(R)John McCain 5,651 4 Delegates
(R)Mike Huckabee 3,616 2 Delegates
(R)Fred Thompson 3,521 2 Delegates
(R)Rudy Giuliani 1,910 1 Deleagate
(R)Duncan Hunter 890 2%

Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucus Results 98% Reporting
(D)Hillary Clinton 5,355 State Delegates 51% 12 Delegates
(D)Barack Obama 4,773 State Delegates 45% 13 Delegates
(D)John Edwards 396 State Delegates 4%
Uncommitted 31 State Delegates 0%
(D)Dennis Kucinich 5 State Delegates 0%

Decision 2008: Nevada and South Carolina

2 contests this weekend and here how hey are shaping up.

Dem. Races: Hillary Vs. Obama goes to its worst, as the bitter fight moves to actual contest the first since Hillary's upset win in NH. In Nevada Clinton and Obama are neck and neck with some showing Edwards in the hunt, so what does this mean for each candidate. For the Clinton Campaign she is hoping to pull another upset in NV and some polls showing her in the lead. With the unions organizing Obama's supporters for the Caucuses she is going to have to work overtime to win here. For the Obama campaignhe hopes his recent endorsements and excitement of his campaign pulls off win #2 in a caucus. Obama needs to win to keep the momentum away from Hillary who leads him in most upcoming contests. Edwards is also hoping for a strong finish this weekend in NV. He hopes to at least come in 2nd, but he really needs a win here and polls showing him in striking distance. South Carolina for the Dems isn't till next Sat., but we thought we would give a little mention of it. In South Carolina with the overwhleming Black vote in SC, Obama has the advantage but the white is swinging Hillary's direction, and with her rising numbers she hopes she can end the Obama phonamonan this weekend with an upset win. Edwards will likely lose this primary, a state in won in 2004, and by a huge margin. Predictions: Hillary prevails in Nevada Obama 2nd Edwards 3rd and Obama edges Hillary out in SC by 5+ points.

GOP Race: Both contests for the Republicans is up this weekend, and the field may finally narrow after the weekend. Fmr. Sen. Fred Thompson who is polling about a tie for 3rd place in SC needs a win here, however that is very unlikely. 2 other men need wins this weekend. John McCain and Mike Huckabee and both say they win win. McCain is hoping history does repeat itself. In 2000 Governor Bush overwhelmed McCain here in SC and ended his campaign. McCain is leading all the polls and the momentum is still in his corner but can he hold on to it? Huckabee being from the South and he needs a win here. Huckabee is now in a fight for the South for McCain, and a win here would cripple his biggest rival according to polls. Romney is pulling out of SC however did make one stop there and re-aired his campaign ads so he hopes that will get him a strong 3rd place finish. He is hoping for a win in Nevada, where polls show him in another fight with Sen. McCain, but with McCain focusing entirely on SC, Romney will likely get win #3, but it may be his last. McCain is hoping his momentum helps him pick up a few delegates in Nevada and the rest of the candidates aren't concerned about Nevada. I predict McCain will win SC and Romney will revail in Nevada, with Thompson dropping out and endorsing McCain and the Huckabee campaign seriously wounded.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #48

Iowa, NH, and Michigan are up, and we have 3 diffent winners. The most complexed Nomination race is on the way.

Republicans

1st: John McCain (steady) Michigan was a sad upset for the McCain campaign, but with his lead holding in SC McCain still holds the frontrunner spot. His huge lead nationally and growing leads in Super Tuesday states, will catch up his weak funding. McCain needs a win in SC to keep frontrunner status. Without it his campaign will far all apart again and dont look for another comeback.

2nd: Mitt Romney (rising) Michigan put him back in the race and he leads the pack in fundraisng votes, states and the all-important delegate count. Romney is looking for his 3rd win in Nevada this weekend with polls favorable. Romney will need it with a likely 3rd or worse finish in South Carolina. The only question I have is where does the Romney campaign go after this weekend. he trails in every Super Tuesday state except his other 2 homestates of Utah and MA. Hs money is gone and he is speanding his own now. Romney will need some wins and a bounce to become viable.

3rd: Mike Huckabee (steady) Huckabee is rising in polls in SC slowly, however his slipping numbers in his stronghold of the south he needs a win this Saturday, or his win in Iowa will be long forgotten.

4th: Rudy Giuliani (falling) Giuliani is now in a 4-way fight for a win in Florida, his do or die state. Without a win there his Super Tuesday standing will fall apart quickly, and another candidat or candidates will emerge without him.

5th: Fred Thompson (rising) Thompson is rising and is up to 17% in SC but that is still only a fight for 3rd. He needs a win here to continue and without one he will be done. I expect Thompson to quit the race next week and endorse McCain.

Democrats:

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Hillary won a meaningless beauty contest in Michigan, however Hillary is closing the gap in SC, and even if she finishes in a strong 2nd she can spin it as a win. If she upsest Obama in Nevada as recent polling suggests she can hold the momentum into Florida and Super Tuesday where she holds substaintial leads in both.

2nd: Barack Obama (steady) Obama will likely win this weekend in both states and will ned both wins to overtake Hillary's wide Super Tuesday lead. If things hold Hillary could wipe Obama out in Super Tuesday in one fowl swoop. Obama needs convincing wins to hold onto the momentum in the race. Obama is far from out, but his campaign needs to be doing some manuvering.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards absolutel needs a upset win in Nevada and close 3rd in Sc to even be considered now and both seem unlikely. Edwards who was a serious candidate just so shortly ago, is a spoiler in the race to the 2-person primary battle.

4th: Dennis Kucinich (falling) Kucinich has neer been in the race but when he only got 5% in Michigan competing against Mr. Uncommitted and lost badly. The spoiler lives on however.

5th: Mike Gravel (falling) Gravel is done and you probably dont even know who he is.

Delegate Count
Republicans (1,191 in order to clinch nomination.)
(R)Mitt Romney 41
(R)John McCain 19
(R)Mike Huckabee 17
(R)Fred Thompson 8
(R)Ron Paul 4
(R)Duncan Hunter 1
(R)Rudy Giuliani 1

Democrats ( 2,208 in order to clinch nomination)
(D)Barack Obama 25
(D)Hillary Clinton 24
(D)John Edwards 18

Decision 2008: Romney wins Michigan

Well Former Massachusetss Governor Mitt Romney has indeed won the Michigan Primary, but the media is already getting ahead of themselves and calling Romney the frontrunner again. Romney is creditted for his win tonight, however this is his homestate. Romney now moves on with the money and the organization, but the race is wide open. No clear frontrunner tonight, with this being Romney's homestate. Well on to Nevada and South Carolina this weekend. Romney is contending in Nevada and will be McCain vs. Romney round 3 overtime and in South Carolina, McCain vs. Huckabee. Romney may recieve some momentum tonight but with it being his homestate it shouldn't matter as much. After whoever wins South Carolina will contend in Florida against Giuliani and right now its a near 4-way tie! This could be a long fight for the nomination for the Republicans

Michigan Presidential Primary Results

(R)Mitt Romney 337,847 39% 20

(R)John McCain 257,521 30% 7

(R)Mike Huckabee 139,699 16% 3

(R)Ron Paul 54,434 6%

(R)Fred Thompson 32,135 4%

(R)Rudy Giuliani 24,706 3%

Uncommitted 17,971 2%

(R)Duncan Hunter 2,823 0.33%

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #47

With NH and Iowa done how is the race shaping up? I will be gone for 3 days but will be back to post about the Michigan Primary after the weekend.

Republicans

1st: John McCain (rising) New polls show McCain leading nationally, and in the upcoming primaries in Michigan, and South Carolina. McCain has done it when no one else thought he could. He is the frontrunner for the first time in 7 months. McCain is focusing this week on South Carolina with a brief stop in Michigan. South Carolina is critical to his campaign as in 2000 McCain won NH, but lost SC and the momentum was gone afterwards. McCain hopes tonight's debate keeps his momentum going.

2nd: Mike Huckabee (rising) Stong in Michigan and South Carolina, Huckabee seems to be focusing on South Carolina. Huckabee may have McCain's worst nightmare of 2000 become his 2008 nightmare with polls showing him trailing McCain. Huckabee also hopes for a strong performance tonight and pray for this race to become a McCain-Huckabee fight to the finish instead of more comebacks.

3rd: Mitt Romney (falling) Romney is in trouble. His campaign has ignored South Carolina, and is now focusing on Michigan his birth state. He wins there Romney could start to comeback after his disappointing 2nd finishes in IA and NH. Romney has pulled his tv spots and recources out of SC, FL and Super Tuesday. Michigan is his do or die state.

4th: Rudy Giuliani (falling) Giuliani needs a win in Florida and a Romney win in Michigan, but both look unlikely. Polls have the once claimed America's Mayor Giuliani running 4th in Florida Giuliani is in trouble and with 2 poor 6th and 4th finishes in Iowa and NH. Giuliani the once frontrunner is in trouble, but I think all the candidates in the top 5 have held the spot of frontrunner.

5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Thompson's do or die state now is South Carolina with his entire campaign in the state. Thompson is in 4th and very distant. Thompson is going to have to make alot of ground.

Democrats

1st Tied: Hillary Clinton (rising) Hillary's surprise win in NH put the momentum back in her corner, but she trails in South Carolina, and needs wins in Super Tuesday to keep a strong campaign and remain a frontrunner. Clinton's experience factor may weigh in if she can perform well against Obama in upcoming debates.

1st Tied: Barack Obama (rising) Obama is still a strong force with his popularity remaining high. He just wont get a cornation neither candidate will. They will both ahve to work for it. Obama will likely win South Carolina, but I better not make any predictions yet with polls proving wrong in NH. We really do have a race now, but a 2-person race.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards has slipped to 3rd in his homestate and his birthstate he trails by a wide margin. Edwards is finished. He will not make any wins and the only thing to consider about his campaign is how long stay in and steal vtes from Obama. Edwards will quit maybe as soon after South Carolina.

4th: Dennis Kucinich (steady) Kucinich is in it till convention like the last campaign, and will be a small spoiler.

5th: Mike Gravel (falling) Another weak spoiler hes done, but we needed 5 spots, but something tills me in 2 weeks will be down 3 or 2.

Decision 2008: John Kerry endorses Barack Obama

2004 Democratic Presidential Nominee, and U.S. Senator John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama for president. Sen. John Edwards, Kerry's running mate in 2004, was expected to pick-up Kerry's endorsement earlier in the campaign, but Kerry chose to snub Edwards and select Obama. Kerry narrowly lost the 2004 Presidential Election to President Bush as we all remember, and Obama is continually picking up support and endorsements, despite Sen. Hillary Clinton's victory last Tuesday.

Decision 2008: Bill Richardson to end Pres. Campaign.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson after two disapointing finishes of under 5% and 4th place finishes and with dried up funding sources say he will end his presidential campaign. Richardson never really had a strong hold on this race although early campaigning and polls showed him at double digit level. Richardson is a Vice Presidential Hopeful should Hillary Clinton become the nominee, and now seems to be focusing on that or positioning for a later presidential run without the big celebrities in the race. Richardson is now the 3rd Democratic victim of the primaries, preceded by Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, and he will not be the last. Sen. John Edwards and Congressman Dennis Kucinich are expected to remain in the race until Super Tuesday. No candidates on the Republican side have ended their campaigns since Congressman Tancredo did back in December before the Holidays.

Decision 2008: Night of Comebacks. On to Michigan and South Carolina.

Last Night certainly was the night of comebacks. Sen. John McCain who was left for dead in the presidential campaign by the media last summer, upsetted Governor Mitt Romney in NH. Both needed to win the state to move forward. It will be very difficult for Romney to move on back to frontrunner status and now his state has put all his resources in his birth state, Michigan. Without a win there Romney will likely end his presidential ambitions, or will just lag on. On the Democratic side the Former Frontrunner Hillary Clinton is now close or is the frontrunner again. After polls showed a huge Obama victory Hillary didn't let that stop her and she beat yes beat Sen. Barack Obama and the Obama phenomanon is over and we have a race on our hands. Obama holds a big lead in SC but no polls have shown Hillary's victory boost so I expect the state to be close. Next Tuesday is Michigan and with Hillary the only major competitor on the ballot, she will win big but, no delegates will be at stake on the Democratic side. On the Republican side this is looking to be Romney's last stand without a win there is campaign is certainly if not already finished. McCain needs a win there to keep frontrunner status alive and the momentum so he can start rolling in the money. Huckabee will need at least another 3rd, but he would hope for a stronger win. Even with polls showing Huckabee strong in Michigan he seems to be ignoring Michigan and focusing on South Carolina where he leads by a wide margin.

Actual New Hampshire Primary Results:

Republican

(R)John McCain 88,46637%

(R)Mitt Romney 75,343 32%

(R)Mike Huckabee 26,768 11%

(R)Rudy Giuliani 20,395 9%

(R)Ron Paul 18,303 8%

(R)Fred Thompson 2,886 1%

(R)Duncan Hunter 1,220 1%

(R)Alan Keyes 220 0%

Democratic
(D)Hillary Clinton 112,251 39%

(D)Barack Obama 104,772 36%

(D)John Edwards 48,681 17%

(D)Bill Richardson 13,249 5%

(D)Dennis Kucinich 3,919 1%

(D)Joe Biden 628 0% Dropped Out

(D)Mike Gravel 402 0%

Decision 2008: John McCain wins NH!!!! THE MAC IS BACK! Dems too close too call

Last post for this evening. Senator John McCain caped a major comeback and won a convincing victory over Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. Polls showed the race much closer but McCain proved true and won the race and is now the Frontrunner for the GOP Nomination. On the Democratic Sideits too close too call with Sen. Clinton ahead apparently. The race could go on all night should Hillary continue to lead Barack Obama. More to come tomorrow! Final Results posted tomorrow!

Decision 2008: The First in the Nation Primary!

New Hampshire citizens are now as we speak casting there ballots deciding whom they would prefer as President of the United States. Instead of going and declaring your preference like in a caucus and gathering in groups, and such NH is like a regular election where you go into a voting booth and cast a secret ballot. Barack Obama and John McCain are the favorites to win NH today, however the latest polls shiw a close race on both sides. The candidates are circling the state today with last minute events to win over undecideds. Hillary Clinton is desparate for a win today but Obama's surge may prove to overtake her. She needs to get within 7% of of Obama or she will be in trouble. I predict McCain will defeat Romney by 5+ and Obama will defeat Hillary Clinton by 7+. For up to the minute results go to http://www.wmur.com , and http://www.sos.nh.gov

Decision 2008: Our Poll Results

Here are our Poll Results for the past month for the Presidential Race:
(New Polls will not include candidates with X)

Republicans
(R)Huckabee 23%
(R)Romney 19%
(R)Paul 19%
(R)McCain 14%
(R)Giuliani 14%
(R)Thompson 9%
(R)Cox 4%
(R)Hunter 3%
(R)Tancredo 3% X
(R)Brownback 1% X

Democrats
(D)Obama 21%
(D)Richardson 21%
(D) Edwards 14%
(D)Biden 14% X
(D)Clinton 12%
(D)Gravel 12% X
(D)Kucinich 10%
(D)Dodd 1% X

Libertarians
(L)E. Thompson 35% X
(L)Jackson 22%
(L)Kubby 19%
(L)Smith 12%
(L Phillies 9%
(L)Root 9%
(L)Jingozian 9%
(L)Imperato 3%

Green
(G)Nader 36% X
(G)Rotzler 18%
(G)Swift 15%
(G)Schriner 9%
(G)Mesplay 9%
(G)Kangas 9%
(G)Bell 6%

Decision 2008: New Hampshire Primary Eve

Tomorrow is the "First in the Nation" Primary and the race and for most this is a do or die state. On the Republican Side Mitt Romney and John McCain both need wins here to have a shot. Rudy Giuliani needs a 3rd place finsi, but the Iowa Winner Mike Huckabee is expected to steal the position. John McCain is leading in the Polls but that could all change by tomorrow. Romney is hoping his finish in the debates this weekend and his non-stop campaigning to put him over the top. Huckabee is becoming the king of Late Night Comedy in politics to get a few free spots on the TV to help get his name out there for future contests. He is hoping on a win in South Carolina. The same goes for Fred Thompson. Thompson is likely going to finish near the bottom in NH, and he is making South Carolina his make or break state. Giuliani is focusing on a top 3 finish in NH and in South Carolina and a win in Florida. Then he can go after the big delegate states on Super Tuesday. On the Democratic Side Barack Obama is riding off his Iowa win and his message of change with a near double digit lead in NH over Hillary Clinton. Clinton's attacks on Obama have had no effect on Obama's growing lead. Edwards and Richardson trail far behind. The other candidates should have no effect on the rest of the race.

RCP Polling Averages
Republicans

(R)John McCain 33.6%
(R)Mitt Romney 28.7%

(R)Mike Huckabee 11.5%

(R)Rudy Giuliani 8.8%

(R)Ron Paul 7.4%

(R)Thompson 2.7%

Democrats
(D)Barack Obama 36.9%

(D)Hillary Clinton 29.1%

(D)John Edwards 18.8%

(D)Bill Richardson 5.9%

Decision 2008: On to New Hampshire

Iowa is over till 2012 and the race steams on to NH. This is actually a change for our politics because our Iowa winners may not win in NH.

NH-GOP Race: Its certain this is also a 2 man race between John McCain and Mitt Romney. This state is do or die state for both candidates. Romney is just off from his resounding defeat in Iowa, and with no momentum and money clearly not translating into votes, Romney has to hope his support doesn't falter. It is clear if Romney doesn't win this neighboring state he will be finsihed, even if he doesn't withdraw. John McCain is leading and the momentum is in his corner but the tracking polls still show a tight race and if some how Romney wins McCain is also finished. His momentum will be gone and Romney will be back in the race. Iowa Winner Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani will fight it out for Third. Ron Paul may also prove strong, and Fred Thompson will be at the bottom. I dont get that Fox isn't allowing Paul in their debate but ehri allowing Thompson who is polling at 2% in NH in.

NH-Dem Race: Barack Obama is riding under the Iowa wave of momentum and that may be enough to overcome Hillary's lead in the Granite state. This is a two man well man vs. woman race. Edwards and Richardson will fight for 3rd with Edwards probably on top. Obama and Hillary should play every trick in the book in attack ads in NH the next 4 days. The debates this weekend shouldn't have too much affect on the race and I believe Obama will win NH with an Iowa win but Hillary still has the Clinton comeback facotr so the race wll be far from over.

Our Predictions:

NH-GOP

1st: McCain
2nd: Romney

3rd: Huckabee

4th: Giuliani

5th: Paul

6th: Thompson
7th: Hunter

8th: Keyes

9th: Cox

NH-Dem.

1st: Obama

2nd: Clinton

3rd: Edwards

4th: Richardson

5th: Kucinich

6th: Gravel

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #46

The race for President is on and we have a whole new race on our hands. Check the Post-Iowa Politics-Central Power Rankings.

Republicans
1st tied: Mike Huckabee (rising) On the top of his Iowa victory, Huckabee could be on his way to frontrunner status but he better get a strong showing in NH and win Michigan and South Carolina if he wants to hold frontrunner status. Huckabee has proved himself, with Iowa coming from behind to beat the seemingly unstoppable Mitt Romney. Congrats to Governor Huckabee!

1st Tied: John McCain (rising) Romney's defeat allows McCain to surge t vicotry in NH and he is now in the best position to win the nomination hwoever he must win NH. People must remember Romney is still in a statistcal tie with McCain in NH so Romney isn't out quite yet. McCain has been given a 2nd chance so can he make something out of it?

3rd: Mitt Romney (falling) Despite what the candidate said himself yesterday was a stunning defeat for his campaign. He now is in danger of going extinct and becoming the Howard Dean of 2008. No screaming involved however. He needs a NH Gold, however with the momentum in McCain's corner Romney is in trouble.

4th Tied: Rudy Giuliani (falling) After polling 10 months agao at 20% Rudy only recieved 4%. A very poor showing for America's mayor. Giuliani needs a 3rd place in NH and a win in Florida. He may also need to start campaiging in South Carolina and forget his startegy.

4th Tied: Fred Thompson (rising) Thompson does need credit for a tie for 3rd place in Iowa, but a slight bronze isn't that great. Thompson has no startegy left and if McCain wins NH look for him to support McCain.

Democrats

1st: Barack Obama (rising) For the first time in our 46 rankings Politics-Central felt a win last night puts Obama in the best spot now to win the nomination. Obama's victory, 9 points over Hillary, needs to be given huge credit. Hillary was inevitable and now Obama is the only 1-0 candidate while Hillary is 0-1.

2nd: Hillary Clinton (falling) Hillary now needs to re-group and get it together in NH. She can gain frontrunner status back if only she can win NH. Without it Hillary will have to rely on Super Tuesday to get her campaign back on top. NH has been good to the Clintons in the past, will it remain good to the Clintons.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards needed a win not another 2nd place finish in Iowa so that has stuck a knive in his campaign. Edwards is finished and should be out before Super Tuesday.

4th: Bill Richardson (falling) Richardson got in the top 4 in Iowa and his campaign is bragging about that but what they forget is they recieved 2%. Don't be fooled Richardson is a vice presidential candidate and not a presidential candidate anymore.

5th: Dennis Kucinich (falling) Shut out of this weekend's debates Kucinich is in trouble. He wont get over 1%.

Decision 2008: Dodd, Biden will drop out.

After poor finishings in Iowa, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee withdrew their candidacies for president. Dodd and Biden both recieved under 1% of state delegates in the Iowa Caucus. Dodd barely made a presence on the race and the same goes for Biden. They raised small amounts, however Dodd practically moved to Iowa and only recieved 1 Delegate vote an embarrassing finish. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson decided to stay in the race, and Former Alaskan U.S. Senator Mike Gravel denied rumors of his withdrawal. On the Republican side Fmr. U.S. Senator Fred Thompson decided to stay in the race after a distant tie for 3rd place finish in Iowa with Sen. John McCain. Thompson if he doesn't withdraw by this weekend will end his campaign after South Carolina where he is trailing.

Decision 2008: Huckabee and Obama emerge victorious in Iowa!

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee trounced Mitt Romney in Iowa by 9 points and Obama did the same to Edwards and Hillary by 8 points. Both now have the advantage, however, McCain picks up the Iowa momentum coming into NH and now could beat and eliminate Mitt Romney form the race in NH. Obama is now on to a possible victory in NH. He could severely hurt should she lose NH. McCain and Thompson are in a dead heat for 3rd place and have basically tied for the position. Ron Paul finished strong in Iowa with 10%. More to come.

2008 Iowa Caucus Results

Republican 95% Reporting

(R)Mike Huckabee 39,814 34% 17

(R)Mitt Romney 29,405 25% 15

(R)Fred Thompson 15,521 13% 3

(R)John McCain 15,248 13% 3

(R)Ron Paul 11,598 10% 2

(R)Rudy Giuliani 4,013 4%

(R)Duncan Hunter 515 1%

Democratic 100% Reporting

(D)Barack Obama 940 38% 16

(D)John Edwards 744 30% 14

(D)Hillary Clinton 737 29% 15

(D)Bill Richardson 53 2%

(D)Joe Biden 23 1%

(D)Chris Dodd 1 0%

(D)Dennis Kucinich 0 0%

(D)Mike Gravel 0 0%

Decision 2008: Today is the day!!!! Iowa kicks off Presidential Race

Today after a year of campaiging Iowa voters will go to churches, schools, living rooms, etc. and tell the world who they support for president and the world is at a stand still as we wait for results to come in. America is holding its breath (well the ones not watching football) as tonight we may be a step closer to knowing who the next president of the United States. On the Democratic side we are deadlocked in a 3 way tie between Illionis U.S. Senator Barack Obama, New York U.S. Senator and Former First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Former North Carolina U.S. Senator John Edwards. Obama holds the momentum with polls showing a surge for him. Sen. Obama needs a big turnout tonight inorder to cap a major comeback. On the Republican side Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee narrowly leads Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Both are neck and neck with polls showing the latest possible surge for Huckabee regaining the lead. Will that be enough to cap a huge darkhorse surprise? We'll just have to wait and see.

Iowa Poll Averages

Democratic

(D)Obama 30.8%

(D)Clinton 29.2
(D)Edwards 26.0%
(D)Biden 5.4%

(D)Richardson 5.2%

(D)Dodd 1%

(D)Kucinich 1%
(D)Gravel -%

Republican

(R)Huckabee 29.7%

(R)Romney 26.7%

(R)McCain 11.8%

(R)Thompson 11.7%

(R)Paul 7.3%
(R)Giuliani 6%
(R)Hunter 1%

(R)Keyes -%

(R)Cox -%

Decision 2008: Eve of the Caucus

This is probably the most competitive Iowa Caucus in decades. All polls show different alternatives. Anyone one of the frontrunners could emerge victorious in Iowa. On the Republican side the Polling Firms all sow either Huckabee or Romney winning Iowa and McCain or Thompson from in 3rd. On the Democratic Side we see Hillary, Obama and Edwards still deadlocked. They are within 2-3 points of each other and polls, all show a different order for each. All can't afford a 3rd place finish. Its certain we could even have a tie or near tie in the caucs. What does this mean for New Hampshire? For the Republicans if Romney win Iowa he will more than likely win NH, if Huckabee wins then either McCain or Romney could win NH. McCain has gained the lead in NH, and if he wins there Romney is finished. On the Democratic side Hillary needs at least a close 2nd in Iowa to hold on to NH. If Obama wins Iowa he could certainly come close to winning NH. If Hillary wins Iowa its over. If Edwards wins Iowa Hillary will hold on and Edwards will come in 2nd and Obama is finished.

Our Final Predictions
Iowa Republican
1st: Huckabee
2nd: Romney
3rd: McCain
4th: Thompson
5th: Paul
6th: Giuliani
7th: Hunter
8th: Keyes

Iowa Democratic
1st: Clinton
2nd: Edwards
3rd: Obama
4th: Biden
5th: Richardson
6th: Dodd
7th: Kucinich
8th: Gravel

Happy New Year 2008!

HAPPY ELECTION YEAR 2008!!!!!!!!!!

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #45

Here is our final power rankings and our final annual end of the month rankings before the Iowa Caucus.

Republicans

1st: Mitt Romney (rising) Romney is the candidate best positioned to take the nomination. If he wins Iowa and NH he knocks out McCain and with Florida, Rudy will be out. Romney however needs a win in Iowa. He has regained or statistically tied Huckabee in Iowa with only 3 days left. Romney could be upsetted by both Huckabee and McCain and then Romney will be in trouble. Romney has enough money to continue well beyond losses in Iowa and NH should that happen.

2nd: John McCain (rising) McCain has surged to 3rd in Iowa and with that, a Huckabee win in Iowa and a win in NH McCain could be on his way to a major comeback. His campaign really needs a 3rd in Iowa and a win in NH. More importantly he needs Mike Huckabee to pull through in Iowa stoping the Mitt Machine.

3rd: Mike Huckabee (steady) He is now dead even in polls with Romney and the momentum could go either way these final days. Huckabee needs a win in Iowa to move on. Without it he won't have the money or momentum to contineue. After he needs a win in Michigan however McCain and Romney or whomever wins NH will be competitive.

4th: Rudy Giuliani (falling) Rudy has now expectations in Iowa NH, Michigan, South Carolina, and Nevada. He can afford to lose them all however his make or break state is Florida. Without it hes done. He can only hope he does perform too badly in those early states that woud hurt his campaign.

5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Thompson's Iowa tour is helping but with the surging campaign Thompson might just be a foot ote in this election. Without a 3rd place finish in Iowa Thompson will be out and slip to also ran status. However if Thompson gets a strong finish in Iowa he could surge in SC and win there and then surge to Florida. I dont see this happening but it is a possibility.

6th: Ron Paul (rising) Paul has the money but the question is can he translate that into votes. Paul could finish 4th and maybe even 3rd in NH and 4th in Iowa which would be a strong finish for Congressman Paul, however he has no startegy to win the nomination so look for him to just be a spoiler.

7th: Duncan Hunter (steady) Congressman Hunter has the experience but will finish near dead last in all the contests. The candidate himself knows he will be an also-ran.

8th: Alan Keyes (steady) His last presidential campaign may be his worst. He will likely not finish storng anywhere and doesn't have ballot access in several primaries. Keyes started to late and it has killed any chance he had.

9th: John Cox (steady) Cox did perform a strong campaign and recieved ballot access but dont look for that to translate to anything ober a few hundred votes if even that.

Democrats

1st: Hillary Clinton (steady) Hillary is on top of polls in Iowa, and that means if she wins its over. However polls are always accurate and her lead is within the margin of error. Sen. Clinton may have a terrible upset in Iowa which could lead to losses in NH, Iowa, and SC and then she will be in trouble.

2nd Tied: Barack Obama (steady) Obama is falling in Iowa and he needs a top 2 finish or he will be in trouble in NH. Obama is also slipping in NH and Edwards is rising, so it looks as if Edwards is slowly replacing Obama as the Clinton alternative. Obama must hold on in Iowa or its all over.

2nd Tied: John Edwards (rising) Edwards needs a win in Iowa and he may just get it. Edwards I see right now as the favorite to win Iowa, and with it he could upset Obama and Clinton, probably not Clinton, in NH. That may swing South Carolina a state he won 4 yars agao and lead to a close race in Florida. The cards are looking good for Edwards to upset his 2 main rivals and win the nomination.

4th: Joe Biden (rising) Biden has surprised us with 4th place finishes in most polls. Biden could surprise us here, but probably with nothing more than a 4th plae finish in Iowa and maybe the same in NH.

5th: Bill Richardson (falling) Richardson is falling and now is in a tooth and nail fight for 4th in Iowa with Biden and 4th in NH. Richardson will be out come Nevada.

6th: Dennis Kucinich (falling) Kucinich is concentrating in NH and may surprise us there but its doubtful. Kucinich will be a spoiler liek last time.

7th: Chris Dodd (falling) Dodd is dead last at 1% in all primaries and caucuses. Dodd will be another spoiler and also-ran.

8th: Mike Gravel (steady) At least Gravel is on the ballot in most stats. He won't even get 1% in any state, but he sure did make the debates interesting didn't he?

Decision 2008: The Final Countdown, 6 days and counting

Well after nearly 18 months, of speculating candidates, announcements, exploratory committees, debates, and straw polls the final week of the primary campaign before the primaries start is on. Iowa has never been more important and NH could go either way. These two states could decode the fait of America for the next 4 years.



Iowa GOP: Well we all know this race is coming down to 2 men, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. We may see a darkhorse make this competitive, however if that was going to happen that candidate would be already breathing down the 2 frontrunners's necks. It appears Fred Thompson needs a strong finish here or it will be his last stand. Thompson's Iowa Tour has made him competitve with the surging John McCain for 3rd place, however McCain could survive without a 3rd place finish as he is banking on NH. Thompson needs this or his dead. McCain is starting to campaign now in Iowa so should be interesting to see if Thompson can survive. Huckabee's lead is holding on so I expect Huckabee to defeat Romney by at least 5 points. Even if this Bhutto crisis has hurt his foriegn policy stance. Romney can't get a bounce from that and likely it will only benefit McCain and Giuliani.

Iowa Democratic: The battle of the titans. The three frontrunners, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, are in a tight neck and neck race and once the dust clears from this showdown, the race could completely change. Edwards is gaining and Hillary is rising while Obama is slipping. Should this continue, Obama could be severly wounded and Edwards could replace him as the Hillary Alternative. If Hillary wins Iowa its all over, she will lock up the nomination quickly adn we wont even need to tune in to Super Tuesday. Obama realy needs a 1st or 2nd finish here and Hillary can not win or the Democratic nomination race will be done.

New Hampshire GOP: This race is also a 2 man showdown. Mitt Romney and John McCain and we know this will be competitive. Romney began this 2 day ad war that may control the rest of this primary. McCain is rumored to be striking make with negative ads, since Romney already has gone negative. McCain's strategy is relying on his foriegn policy experience and his latest endorsements to swing his way. McCain seemed not interested in getting in Romney's attack battle, but it appears he may be pressured into it. Romney is slipping here and now is neck and neck with McCain and McCain is known for his comebacks in this state. McCain wins here he wil surge to frontrunner status, and Romney will be severly wounded. Giuliani is hoping for at least a 3rd place finish, but Huckabee could surge with a win in Iowa to get 3rd here.

New Hampshire Democratic: This race will likely be decided on Iowa's result. Hillary wins Iowa she wins here. Obama wins Iowa he wins NH. Edwards likely can't comeback to win here but Iowa's momentum can't be underestimated. This state is crucial however to Hillary's startegy. The Former First Lady could be damaged severly if she doesn't win here. Obama needs this state if he loses Iowa. We can't predict anything without any results from Iowa.

Decision 2008: Iowa down to the wire

Now with Christmas over, the candidates are back on the trail fundraising, speaking shaking hands, doing whatever they can to get ready for the First in the Nation contest, the Iowa Caucus. Republicans are neck and neck with new ARG polls suggesting amybe even a 3-way race or vene 4-way between Huckabee, Romney and even Sen. John McCain and Mayor Giuliani. Their polls had Huckabee 23% Romney 21% McCain 17% Giuliani 14%. Congressman Ron Paul scored 10% in the latest poll and Fred Thompson who needs a good showing here fell to 5th at 3%. These polls show a whole new ball game in Iowa. Huckabee must win Iowa now or his campaign will be finished. Romney could survive a loss in Iowa but a 3rd or 4th finish may kill his chances in New Hampshire. McCain if he can score 3rd or 4th or even 2nd he will be a very strong competitor to be reckoned with now with his NH numbers so high. Giuliani isn't expected to score high in any early state so any place would be good for his campaign. We'll stick to out predictions of 1st: Huckabee 2nd: Romney 3rd: McCain 4th: Thompson. These new Iowa polls also show Hillary way out in front in Iowa. If Sen. Clinton wins Iowa she pretty much caps the nomination. The momentum would be in her collumn and thus swing every state her direction. Obama must get organized as he was a month ago and win this caucus. Edwards must also win here, but a win for Edwards is ultimately a win for Hillary. So it comes down to really If Obama and Hillary winning Iowa that shapes the rest of the race.

New American Reserach Group Iowa Polls

Republicans

(R)Huckabee 23%

(R)Romney 21%

(R)McCain 17%

(R)Giuliani 14%

(R)Paul 10%

(R)Thompson 3%

(R)Hunter 2%

(R)Keyes 2%

Democrats:

(D)Clinton 34%

(D)Edwards 20%

(D)Obama 19%

(D)Biden 8%

(D)Richardson 5%

(D)Dodd 2%

(D)Kucinich 2%

(D)Gravel -%

Happy Holidays from Politics-Central

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2008! Will be back to posting after Christmas!

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings

Here is the last rankings before the break for the Holidays:

Republicans:

1st: Mike Huckabee (rising) Iowa seems to be leaning his way and now with SC, Michigan, Florida and national polls also in Huckabee's pocket, he once again earns a 1st place from us. Huckabee will be a force to be reckoned with after Iowa. He wins there he will be the frontrunner for the nomination without a doubt.

2nd Tied: Mitt Romney (falling) With his lead in Iowa gone and and his lead in NH down to 3, Romney could very well lose both states and his early state strategy is gone and thus his campaign for president. He needs a win in NH to stay alive. Without it hes gone.

2nd Tied: John McCain (rising) He's BACK!!!!!!!! McCain is now in a dead heat for 3rd in Iowa and a win in NH. With both he can secure Michigan, Nevada and possibly South Carolina. McCain needs a win however in NH. If Romney wins he'll steal the momentum back.

4th: Rudy Giulian (falling) Who would have thought Mike Huckabee would be the frontrunner and Giuliani would be near death in the campaign with less than 11 days left till the Iowa Caucus. Scandals and publicity against Rudy really has hurt him and he will likely now place in the top 4 in any early state, execpt for Florida. He needs Florida, without it he'll do poorly on Super Tuesday.

5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Now in a fight for 3rd in Iowa. Without at least 3rd Fred's out. Thompson now falls to 4th in SC, a must win. I just dont see any possibility Fred can win, so will drop him to 5th.

Democrats:

1st Tied: Barak Obama (rising) Yes for the first time Obama has done and shares the frontrunner spot with Sen. Clinton. Obama may very well win all the early states and crush Hillary in Super Tuesday if he infact wins Iowa. He needs a win in Iowa however. 2nd or 3rd to either Hillary or Edwards would kill his campaign and leave Hillary as the nominee.

1st: Tied: Hillary Clinton (falling) Hillary needs a win in NH or she could be in some trouble. The momentum goes to Obama and he could swing the whole thing in an upset. Clinton is now far from having this locked.

3rd: John Edwards (rising) Edwards could in fact win Iowa and not too many are acknowledge that. Edwards however could ahnd the nomination to Hillary. If he wins Iowa Hillary will surge and Obama will fall. Edwards better back off if he doesn't want Hillary to win.

4th: Bill Richardson (steady) Richardson now thinks he has a shot at the top job instead of Hillary's #2. well better get your eyes examined Bill you have no chance.

5th: Joe Biden (steady) too bad the most experience Democrat running is doing so badly. Sorry Joe you dont have a shot either.

Decision 2008: Primary Predictions

Here are our Predictions for the Primary/Caucus Season

Iowa Caucus
GOP:
1st: Huckabee
2nd: Romney
3rd: McCain
4th: Thompson
5th: Giuliani

Dem:
1st: Obama
2nd: Clinton
3rd: Edwards
4th: Richardson
5th: Biden

NH Primary
GOP:
1st: McCain
2nd: Romney
3rd: Huckabee
4th: Giuliani
5th: Paul

Dem:
1st: Clinton
2nd: Obama
3rd: Richardson
4th: Biden
5th: Kucinich
(Edwards wil be out)

SC Primary
GOP:
1st: McCain
2nd: Huckabee
3rd: Thompson
4th: Romney
5th: Giuliani

Dem:
1st: Obama
2nd: Clinton
3rd: Richardson
4th: Biden
5th: Dodd

Michigan
GOP:
1st: McCain
2nd: Huckabee
3rd: Romney
4th: Giuliani
5th: Paul
(Thompson will be otu)

1st: Clinton
No other Dems.

Decision 2008: Huckabee and McCain on the rise!

Well it seems the GOP listened to me when I said switch to Huckabee and McCain, because the two are going nowhere but up in polls. Recent Iowa polls have Former Governor Mike Huckabee 4-6 points ahead of Former Governor Mitt Romney in the first contest of the 2008 primary season. Sen. John McCain has now trippled in just the past two days his numbers in Iowa. He has gone from 6% to 20% according ARG, but I see him more around 15%. Hes definately in a solid 3rd place as of now, and the Des Moines Resgister Endorsement may have hekped. In New Hampshire McCain has surged from 18% last week to 26% now tied with Romney for the lead in NH. This comes after endorsements from endorsements from the Manchester-Union Leader, the Boston Globe, The Portsmouth Hearld and Sen. Joe Lieberman. McCain certainly has the momentum now, after 3 months of being "dead". I will once again precict a Huckabee win in Iowa and a 3rd place finish for McCain in Iowa, and a Win in NH for Sen. McCain. McCain and Huckabee will likely be the frontrunners, with McCain coming out on top! Just wait and see.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #43

Sorry about not posting for 3 weeks. Been busy. Ill start posting once the Holidays start. Alot has chnaged since my last rankings. See where we are:

1st: Mike Huckabee (steady) I bet if you told someone 1 year ago Mike Huckabee would be the frontrunner that would have laughed. Now its a reality and a real possibility he could win the nomination. Huckabee leads now in Iowa, SC, Michigan and even Florida!

2nd: Mitt Romney (falling) Losing his lead fast! Romney could be out even before Super Tuesday if somehow Iowa and NH slip from his grasp. New Polls have him slowly gaining on Huckabee, but can he top Huckabee's mounting momentum. Romney better start to sweat.

3rd: John McCain (rising) New Rasmussen Polls have McCain barely trailing Romney 31-27% in NH and now at 14% in Iowa at 3rd place. McCain is also surging quickly and is far from politically dead. I have said it before and Ill say it again McCain will finish well in Iowa and win NH and then the nomination.

4th: Rudy Giuliani (falling) Giuliani now seems to be politically dead. His offices are closing in Iowa and NH, and now Giuliani must rely on winning Florida, a state he is now trailing. Giuliani is also falling in California a big state on Super Tuesday and Huckabee and McCain are gaining. Looks like you all took my advice and starting looking at the best candidates.

5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Thompson needs a 3rd in Iowa and with McCain gaining from the Des Moines Register Endorsement, Thompson may be out before NH. Thompson needs a 3rd just to raise money and keep voters in tact until South Carolina where he's slipped to 4th. I really can't see anyway Fred can win this one. I expect him to drop out and endorse McCain after Iowa.

Democrats

1st: Hillary Clinton (falling) Clinton's lead in all early states is long gone. Her time as frontrunner may be over. She could lose the first 3 contests. She might have to rely also on a win in Florida to win in Super Tuesday. Hillary will likely not be the nominee in January and maybe not even at all.

2nd: Barack Obama (rising) Obama now leads in Iowa and SC. Both could catapult him to knocking Hillary (did I actually say that) out of the race. He win Florida the Former First Lady might be in some real trouble. Obama will likely win Iowa now and maybe NH. Amazing that 3 years ago we didn't even know a Barack Obama.

3rd: John Edwards (rising) Edwards needs to win Iowa and hes only down by single digits. Edwards may surprise us all, but really a win for Edwards is a win for Clinton. That shuts Obama down and leaves her to crush Edwards in NH, SC, FL and Super Tuesday, just like Kerry did in 2004.

4th: Bill Richardson (steady) Richardson needs a win in Nevada and he wont get it so look for him to be applying for Hillary's VP soon.

5th: Joe Biden (steady) Remember this 1 month from now Biden will announce his candidacy for re-election. He's done.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #42

End or the Month Rankings:


Republicans:


1st: Mitt Romney (falling) The beginning of the drop that was expected to happen to Romney is finally happening. Primary Voters and Caucus Goers always take 2nd looks to frontrunners and aren't usually kind. With 49% undecided in Iowa, its anyone's game, and Huckabee is coming on strong.


2nd: Rudy Giuliani (falling) New Iowa polls show Giuliani in a distant 4th and 5th with McCain and Paul even surging ahead. In New Hampshire it seems Giuliani is slowly dropping and may leave it between Romney or McCain. He seems to be relying on a landslide victory in Florida on Jan. 29th, which polls suggest. However will his lead there hold with 4 loses especially if Romney wins them all?


3rd Tied: Mike Huckabee (rising) Huckabee surges ahead in Iowa, according to Rasmussen and that has surged his polls to 3rd and 4th in NH and within striking distance of the lead in South Carolina. If he wins Iowa Huckabee could surprise us all and steal the nomination away.


3rd Tied: John McCain (steady) McCain held a strong performance at the CNN Youtube Debates and recent NH polls show him within striking distance of Romney, howver others show a Romney landslide. That could all change in 1 month. McCain needs a win in NH in order to continue.


5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Fred does get 14% and 15% in Iowa and South Carolina but that still leaves him in a distant 3rd and 4th in both states and his lazy campaign and organization in those states may surge another candidate to win in those states. New Hampshire Polls have him at 2-3% with even Congressman Ron Paul leading him.


6th: Ron Paul (rising) Alot has changed from our last End of the Month rankings. Paul has shot to 6th from 8th. New New Hampshire and other Ealry Contest Polls show him at all time highs of 6-10%. He may make something of this campaign. He wont win the nomination, however he certainly is surprising us all.


7th: Duncan Hunter (steady) Hunter has the experience, but not the poll numbers. He will be another also-ran.


8th: Tom Tancredo (steady) His early state visits have lagged recently and he seems to slowly be abandoning his presidential run for his re-election bid to the U.S. House.


9th: Alan Keyes (falling) He isn't invited to any debats and many forget he was a strong candidate in 2000. If Hunter and Tancredo get to go, Keyes should as well.


10th: John Cox (steady) Making head-way for an Illionis Businessman and a complete unknown with no political experience. Getting on the NH and SC ballots helped, but he didn't comethrough with a debate performance.


Democrats


1st: Hillary Clinton (falling) with Bill's mistakes on the war and flip flops on issues herself Hillary has also been hurt by the voters taking a 2nd look at the frontrunner. Her lead in Iowa has vanished and 3 polls have Obama ahead and Edwards catching. She could survive a 2nd but how would a 3rd place go, which silenced Once Dem. Frontrunner Howard Dean.

2nd: Barack Obama (rising) Obama has come on strong in Iowa, and a win there could give him the momentum needed to win the nomination. Clinton doesn't have the nomination locked up yet. Obama however must win or else its over.

3rd: John Edwards (steady) Still in a close 3rd in Iowa. He was able to pull an upset in Iowa 4 years ago, so he might be able to pull something out of this race.

4th Tied: Bill Richardson (falling) His numbers are poor everywhere, he will likely get 4th places in most states with maybe a few 3rds.

4th Tied: Joe Biden (rising) Biden seems to be coming on strong against Richardson, but way to far from the top. He might have to quit soon to campaign for re-election or go for Secrtary of State.

6th: Chris Dodd (falling) Not making headway anyway. He averages at 1% and could very well come dead last in some primaries and caucuses.

7th: Dennis Kucinich (steady) Kucinich sure is making hype about his campaign, however not enough to win the nomination. He'll finish last erveywhere, well I guess ahead of Gravel.

8th: Mike Gravel (steady) Sure to come in dead last. He isn't invited to anymore debates and no one covers his campaign. Its likely he will not even get 1% in any state.

Decision 2008: CNN Youtube Debate

Once again the CNN Youtube Debates showed how debates should go, but what I wish to talk about right now, instead of saying who won. I want to address what the Republicans want in 2008? I'm sure most of my readers know, I am a Republican always have been always will be, however I'm very dissatified with the Republican field of Presidential Candidates before me. Right now if the primaries were today (Thank Goodness they're not) Mitt Romney would likely be the nominee. Why? Well there I can not tell you. Governor Romney has flipped flopped on every issue, is only a 1 term Governor, and will surely lose the General Election to our worst fears, Hillary Clinton. To prove what I have said, Governor Romney is on record of being Pro-Choice. He did so to win an election. You can't be Pro-Life and win in Massachusetts. You can't be Pro-Choice and win the Republican Nomination for President and thats why he has changed his position. Not because he felt he was wrong about Abortion, but because the Republicans and the Conservatives who will get him elected feel that way. Romney currently trails Sen. Clinton in every General Election poll by 5-10+ margins. That could be a landslide. Romney than decided to switch sides on Gay Rights when he said tonight he isn't for Gays in the military, well he sorta avoided the question. What I found astouding was Romney could not look into the camera and answer any the questions he is acused of flip-flopping on. If he is our nominee Hillary will demolish him in the debates. Now Im not just saying this about Governor Romney. I'm also ashamed this party who has worked so hard for decades fighting against Abortion would make Former NY Mayor Rudy Giulani the leading candidate nationally. Giuliani came out tonight defending thr right to Abortion saying if he had the oppertunity he would not ban it. He also stated he doesn't believe in the words of the Bible entirely. In my opinon the Bible is the Holy Word of the one true God Almighty, and Mayor Giuliani says his word isn't entirely correct. Pat Robertson endorsed this which really steamed me. Robertson supposed is the face of Christian Conservatives. Then how America can Robertson Endorse a man who doesn't totally and absolutely feel the Word of God is correct? Giuliani and his line item veto is a scham. He didn't fight against the veto for justice he did it to protect the billions of dollars of pork and earmarks that got him elected to his position which Sen. John McCain pointed out. Giuliani and Romney say things you want to hear to hide their own selfish ambitions to keep their political careers intact and earn your vote. That is why I renew Politics-Central's Endorsement of U.S. Senator John McCain for President of these United States. I also announce our support of Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Both admirable men who stand by what they believe in and know what they are talking about. Sen. McCain has been in congress for nearly 3 decades, fighting against earmarks and pork which Mayor Giuliani used to filth New York legislation. Huckabee reduced 90 taxes in Arkansas the most of any running for president and in his states history. He held a long time Pro-Life record with John McCain. Both men stand by what they believed in not to get your vote and be in politics, but to fight for what's right. These are the men we need in the General. McCain currently is the only candidate who can beat Sen. Clinton. He is our last hope at keeping the White House. Sen McCain has 2x the experience ins ecurity issues than Mayor Giuliani. He was senator in the persian Gulf and fought in Vietnam. He was the only man to stand by the current successful strategy in Iraq. He proposed what the president is using and is credited as the most successful thing to happen to our stay in Iraq. Come America and the Republican Party. DONT ELECT ROMNEY OR GIULIANI! ELECT MCCAIN OR HUCKABEE. Now I know you ahve your right to your decisions, Im just saying a long time Conservative Republican who is fed of with 2008 politics's opinion.

Happy Thanksgiving

Politics-Central is taking a break but will be back Dec. 1st.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #41

Republican


1st: Mitt Romney (rising) Increasing his leads in Iowa and NH puts him on top even with his poor national numbers. Romney is surprisingly even leading in South Carolina. Romney is on his way to sweeping the primaries, but we can't say he has it won, because look what happened to Dean in 2004. If he loses Iowa his campaign could be in trouble.


2nd: Rudy Giuliani (rising) While his national numbers increase he holds steady in the early primaries and caucuses. Giuliani needs to win at least one of the early 3 to move on to Super Tuesday.


3rd: John McCain (rising) McCain has shot to 19% nationally a steady 2nd place, as his numbers in Iowa, NH and South Carolina improve. All he really needs is a win in NH and that will swing South Carolina and Michigan.


4th: Mike Huckabee (rising) 2 points from the lead in Iowa, and 10% nationally puts him on top of Fred Thompson for the first time since the campaign began. Huckabee could upset the nomination with a win in Iowa, and with his numbers going nowhere but up since his strong Ames finish and Debate performances he could very well be on that path.


5th: Fred Thompson (falling) Recent General Election Polls show Thompson losing by a landslide to Sen. Hillary Clinton. I know he recieved that big endorsement from The Right to Life, but endorsements dont win elections. If someone can show me a way Thompson is effectively improving in the early primaries which he isn't then Ill move him up. Oh he also slipped to 3rd nationally over the weekend. All not good signs for his campaign.


Democrats:


1st: Hillary Clinton (steady) Improved in the past debate, but the damage was already done. Barack has moved into a tight race with her in Iowa, that could swing the momentum his way and at last end the Clinton nomination inevitablitiy.

2nd: Barack Obama (rising) Nationally Hillary has is won, but there isn't a national primary. Obama now is in a horse race with Sen. Clinton in Iowa. Should he win there Hillary could be in serious trouble.

3rd: John Edwards (steady) People don't realize, however Edwards still is in the hunt to win Iowa. He is currently only 6-8 point from the lead and scored a 2nd here in 2004. Edwards isn't completely out, but is being heavilay overshadowed by Obama and Hillary.

4th: Bill Richardson (falling) He was tied with Edwards in NH in 1 poll, but is falling everywhere so he remains in a lobsided 4th.

5th: Joe Biden (rising) Biden might be able to use some of his momentum he has been getting to turn this campaign from a possible 5th to even last place finish in most of the primaries to maybe even a 3rd or 4th. Still nowhere near a chance at the nomination however.

Decision 2008: Independents crowding the '08 race, could mean a Democrat in the White House.

Well more and more strong Ross Perot like candidates are coming out and considering a run for the presidency next year which could throw the election next year into paradox! In the past 2 days CNN's Lou Dobbs a popular CNN Anchor and Radio Show Host, was seemed to be contemplating a run for president next year. Dobbs denied this on his show, but said he was flattered by the speculation. Now don't count Dobbs out of the '08 race yet, as his advisors tell us that he may enter the race if New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg runs as an independent. That would make it a 4-way race. Also is Former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn ran a 5-way race for the Presidency, a first in U.S. History would emerge. Than there's the speculation of Ralph Nader running again, Fmr. Governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota, Fmr. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, running a Green, and Congressman Ron Paul as a Libertarian. Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert exited the presidential race last week, after being denied access into the South Carolina Democratic Primary. Colbert has yet to deny a nationwide independent bid, but Colbet aides say his career in presidential politics is near over. There is a strong chance this election may not be decided right out on Nov. 4th. If no candidate recieves 270 electoral votes the U.S. House of Representatives, which will likely remain in Democratic Hands, will likely choose a Democrat. All of these Independent or 3rd party candidates may pave the way for a Democrat to emerge as President, current polls show. If Bloomberg, Dobbs, Colbert and others ran it is likely they would draw Republican votes away from thw Republican or at least take enough independent voters away for a Democratic Victory.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #40

Here are Politics-Central Oct-November Power Rankings:

Republicans:

1st Tied: Mitt Romney (rising) Romney continues his stable lead in Iowa and New Hampshire and is showing strength in South Carolina. If Mitt does win in Iowa he could sweep the primaries and the nominations.

1st Tied: Rudy Giuliani (steady) Giuliani currently leads in Florida, a strong southern state, but still trails Romney is key early states. Michigan may put Rudy over Mitt in the race but he can't win without NH. Pat Robertson's endorsement is expected to boost his campaign.

3rd: John McCain (steady) McCain has finally tied Thompson now in National Polls and new Iowa and NH polls show McCain's campaign getting a small boost from the Brownback endorsement. McCain also is up to 16% a high in South Carolina. McCain was so bold to state he will win NH. NH is his do or die state, but new numbers are showing the former frontrunner, may be back in this thing. McCain now seems to be the most electable Republican according to General Election Match-up Polls.

4th Tied: Fred Thompson (falling) With the Right to Life endorsement Thompson may get a boost, however it is unlikely. Currently the only early contests he holds strong in is South Carolina, where he comes in a close 2nd to Romney. Thompson has fallen to a distant 3rd in Florida and even polls in his homestate of Tennessee show Thompson in a tight race. Thompson's campaign has certainly lagged lately.

4th Tied: Mike Huckabee (rising) New National polls show his campaign skyrocketing. He has gone from 3-5% nationally to 10-12%. In Iowa he is 8-10 points from the lead now in 2nd. Huckabee's darkhorse campaign is quickly picking up steam while Thompson and McCain lose steam especially in Iowa. If Kerry came back and won Iowa in 2004, we can't rule out a Huckabee win in Iowa in 2008.

Democrats

1st: Hillary Clinton (falling) For the first time in 2 months Hillary has actually slipped in polls. That slip isn't big enough to take her frontrunner status, but it is great enough for us to re-thnk whether she has he nomination locked up. New Iowa and NH polls show a sharp dip in polls for Clinton, while Obama trails not too far behind.

2nd: Barack Obama (rising) The Jackson and Jefferson dinner was clearly a success for the Obama campaign. Obama is now within 5-8 points on Hillary in Iowa and 10-12 in NH which is down from 20 last week. Obama's campaign of attack-dogging is improving and may benefit his campaign.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards continues to fall in his must-win Iowa caucus. He has fallen to a distant 3rd. Edwards needs to no less than win the state to continue if not the race is over for him.

4th: Bill Richardson (falling) Richardson as we have stated earlier is longer running for president, but for Hillary's VP slot. Nothing further.

5th: Joe Biden (rising) With Richardson falling and Biden's steep attacks on Rudy Giulini Biden has risen to 6% in NH, but still way too far to catch up to Obama and Hillary.

U4prez Election Results

Lane Startin or Faustus 37 has officially won the U4prez Presidential Election. Startin, a Idaho Democrat, and Successful Businessman narrowly defeated MejicoJohn/John Averitt with Republican Musicman/Sandrow Belanger trailing far behind. Disappointing results for Republicans coming dead last, however Independents and certainly Democrats must be satisfied. Startin is expected to make his first radio show appearence since being elected U4prez President on my show http://blogtalkradio.com/politics-central. Startin is a long time friend of the site and the show and we welcome his win. Congratualtions to Mr. Startin.

U4prez Presidential Election Results
(D)Faustus37/Lane Startin 153
(I)MejicoJohn/John Averitt 147
(R)Musicman/Sandrow Belanger 42

Decision 2007: Election Day Preview

Tuesday is Election Day, but not too many will pay attention to the off-year elections happening then. 2 states, Kentucky and Mississippi will hold statewide elections for Governor and several other statewide positions, while Mayoral Elections will be held in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Houston.

Kentucky Governor's Race

What was expected to be a competitive race earlier this year appears to be looking like a landslide. According to the most recent WHAS-TV/SurveyUSA poll Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) appears to be trailing to Former Lt. Governor Steve Beshear (D) 60%-36%. A landslide. Not good numbers coming into the final week of the campaign. Filled with scandal and a weak re-election campaign look for Fletcher to become the Democrat's first victim since 2006.

Our Prediction: Strong Democratic Pick-Up (20%+)

Mississippi Governor's Race

Democratic Attorney John A. Eaves Jr. challenges popular Republican Governor Haley Barbour. Barbour was considered a possible presidential candidate until he denied interest early last year so he could focus on running for re-election. Eaves hasn't put up a strong enough challenge and the onyl few polls taken show a strong Republican Victory. If Barbour does succeed on Tuesday he will definately become a possible VP pick for 2008.

Our Prediction: Strong Republican Hold (20%+)

San Francisco's Mayoral Race

Incumbent Mayor Gavin Newsom should cruise to a landslide victory with no strong opponent and 13 unknown challengers. Newsom's approval of Gay Marriage acts has remained popular so watch for the Democrat to win the race.

Our Predicition: Strong Democratic Hold (40%+)

Philadelphia's Mayoral Race

In a extremely Democratic city, City Councilman Michael Nutter (D) is expected to crush Freguent Candidate Al Taubenberger. Nutter is Incumbent Mayor John Street's selected successor.

Our Prediction: Strong Democratic Hold (70%+)

Houston's Mayoral Race

Mayor Bill White has no competition. The only concern is what will the 3-Term Mayor do in 2008 or '10 since he is term-limited in 2009. Look for White to win the Mayoral Primary by a wide margin, and likely run for Governor in 2010, challenging either Governor Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Hutchison.

Our Prediction: Strong Democratic Hold (50%+)

Decision 2008: Bobby Jindal wins in Louisiana

U.S. Congressman Bobby Jindal (R) won the Louisiana Primary for Governor with 54% over 12 opponents. Jindal previously ran in 2003, but narrowly lost in an upset to current Governor Kathleen Blanco. Blanco chose to retire this year instead of seeking re-election with growing unpopularity. Governor-Elect Jindal becomes the youngest governor in America at 36. Jindal had been the favorite in the race since January, and when Blanco dropped out he was assured victory. Jindal won in 2006 re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives with 88% showing his popularity in the state.

Louisiana Governor Election Results

(R)Bobby Jindal 699,672 54%

(D)Walter Boasso 226,364 17%

(I)John Georges 186,800 14%

(D)Foster Campbell 161,435 12%

Other Candidates: 23,682 3%

Decision 2008: Kerrey doesn't run in Nebraska!

Former Nebraska U.S. Senator and Governor, Bob Kerrey announced today he will not return home next year to run for the U.S. Senate with Sen. Chuck Hagel retiring. Kerrey chooses to remain President of The New School in NY. That pretty much hands the seat back into the GOP's hands, with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns (R), a former Governor, running for the seat. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning is also running in the Republican Primary. Democrats's only hope now is that Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey runs for the seat. That isn't likely, so move this into the Safe GOP Hold collumn.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings # 39

Sorry about the delay!

This is the first edition we will include a Independent/Third Party Rankings.

Republicans

1st: Rudy Giuliani (steady) Satying strong nationally and in early states. Remains the frontrunner. No candidate seems strong enough to take that title away fromhim, but the GOP race is still a horse race.

2nd: Mitt Romney (falling) Losing support in Iowa and NH both must-wins for his campaign isn't good, however he still manages to hold on to the lead in both states.

3rd Tied: John McCain (steady) His rise from the dead has made political pundits and social conervatives take a 2nd look at McCain. With Brownback exitting he could get a small boost over the weekend.

3rd Tied: Fred Thompson (falling) His lack of visiting key states in the primary season has started to have an effect on his campaign.

5th: Mike Huckabee (rising) Huckabee stunned us all 2 months ago when he scored a 2nd place finish at Ames, and it has really paid off. Last week an Iowa Poll had him tied for 2nd place. The first 2nd tier candidate to do so. His national numbers, have doubled, and his strong performances at debates makes him a very viable candidate now. The only problem of his, is he can't raise the money he needs.

Democrats:

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Hillary opened a 30 point lead according to new national polls doubling, and nearly tribling her nearest opponent's numbers. If this holds steady she has the nomination locked up.

2nd: Barack Obama (falling) His support nationally is dwindling and pathetic compared to the frontrunner's. Barack needs a win in Iowa to stay alive and that looks pretty dim at this point.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards is down to the low double digits nationally, and in Iowa a must win state for his campaign, he has slipped to 3rd. Its not looking good for his campaign.

4th: Bill Richardson (falling) His bounce from his staunch campaigning has dwindled, and even in Nevada, he comes in a distant 4th. The only state he is carrying at this point is his home of New Mexico, however just by the skin of his teeth.

5th: Joe Biden (falling) New Polls out of his native Delaware show him in 3rd place behind Clinton and Obama, and not even winning his homestate shows he wont be the nominee. Maybe Secretary of State if a Democrat is elected

Independents/Third Parties

1st: Michael Bloomberg (steady) The spark of his once assumed Independent run is gone, but he still gets at least 9-10% nationally in General Election Polls. If Bloomberg runs, it pretty much gurantees a Democrat will be elected in 2008. (President Hillary)

2nd: Sam Nunn (steady) It looks as if he will mount an Independent run, but with being out of the senate and the spotlight so long can he make a dent in the General Election. It doesn't appear so.

3rd: Stephen Colbert (steady) The media is flocking to the comedian giving his somewhat of a joke of a campaign some spotlight. His campaign however is only in South Carolina so you know he isn't really trying.

4th: Brian Moore (steady) He gets his spotlight in our rankings for winning the Socialist Party Nomination this weekend.

5th: Steve Adams (steady) With Bob Hargis on board his campaign is ready for the general and maybe he will get on the ballot in Kentucky.

Decision 2008: Sam Brownback exits race for President

Kansas U.S. Senator Sam Brownback will officially end his 2008 Presidential Campaign tomorrow. Brownback sites that he isn't raising enough money and his poor support has caused him to reconsider running. Brownback said once he came in 3rd Place at the Iowa Straw Poll that that was enough to continue his campaign till Iowa. Brownback raised just below $1 million for the 3rd Quarter and he hasn't polled over 3% in most polls. I got a chance to personally meet Senator Brownback 2 weeks ago when he spoke to my Local Republican Party and in my opinion Brownback was the most conservative candidate for president. He will surely be missed in the Presidential field.

U4prez Independent Convention Update #2: MejicoJohn wins!

It was Barry Davidson vs. John Averitt for the last slot on the November Ballot. The other 4 candidates didn't trail too far behind but the race has been between Icababe and MejicoJohn for most of the week. Icabebe is the current Independent Party Leader, while John is a longtime popular candidate on the site. John eventually won it in the end. Congrats to him!

Stephen Colbert runs for President!!!!!!!

This is no joke. Stephen Colbert has announced on his show that he will be running for president of the United States in 2008! He is going to later file paperwork to get on the ballot in the South Carolina Republican and Democratic Primaries. Colbert hosts Comedy Central's Colbert Report and is an Award winning comedian. He has long been toying about running as a joke but he went serious on the Daily Show and announced on his show! Unity'08 has seemed to have been trying to draft Colbert to be their nominee. We shall see after the primaries whether Colbert does take their offer or not

U4prez Independent Convention Update #1

Well after a long week of Republican Convention the Indys have their turn. 6 candidates are neck and neck for the nomination. There rules are a little different than the Republicans. Instead of daily highs and runoffs all 6 face off and the one who has the highest total wins the nomination. MejicoJohn/John Averitt leads the pack with 20 votes currently while the rest are not far behind. Should be an interesting week of convention. Who ever does become the nominee expect him on the show this Saturday!

Independent Convention Results as of 10/15/07

(I)MejicoJohn/John Averitt 20

(I)Icababe/Barry Davidson 19

(I)Mike Weinheimer/Maditude 15

(I)BobWHargis/Bob Hargis 13

(I)CoryF/Cory Froelich 12

(I)Big Daddy 9

Bold-Leader at this Point

U4prez GOP Convention Update #10: MUSICMAN WINS!

Sandrow Belanger has come from behind to win the GOP Nomination! Musicman stunned us all this week when he tied Copulate's 26 votes 3 days ago and has shocked the u4prez world by winning the Republican Nomination. Ghost/Scott Wind has been selected as his running mate for vice president. Musicman is now a strong favorite for GOP Leader, and it seems his win tonight has put the Republicans back in the game for the General. Now we await the Independent Convention. Hopefully next week wont be as long a week as this one.

GOP Convention Receap:

Kempite's withdrawal from the race made the Republican nomination wide open. No clear favorite or frontrunner came in the convention and thats how we started the week. We moved on towards the end of the week with huge surprises! Copulate scored 26 votes stunning even himself while the other candidates didn't get over 10. Musicman then scored 26 as well. Then came the losses of Hawk and Hedrick who were expected to be leading the race. This week ended with a long drawn out runoff between Musicman and Copulate and finally we have a ticket!

Final Republican Convention Results

(R)Musicman/Ghost 100

(R)Copulate/RSobien 93

U4prez GOP Convention Update #9: Election Returns

Republican Convention Runoff Results

9:45 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 88
(R)Copulate/RSobien 88

9:30 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 88
(R)Copulate/RSobien 85

9:10 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 85
(R)Copulate/RSobien 82

5:50 PM
(R)Copulate/RSobien 72
(R)Musicman/Ghost 71

Copulate takes the lead for the first time today.

5:00 PM
(R)Copulate/RSobien 70
(R)Musicman/Ghost 69

4:00 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 66
(R)Copulate/RSobien 63

3:10 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 66
(R)Copulate/RSobien 59

U4prez GOP Convention Update #8

Well right now we stand with Musicman leading by a 8 vote margin over Copulate for the U4prez GOP nomination. It has been neck and neck for the past 2 days and Musicman appears to have opened the widest lead yet in their runoffs. We won't know for another 7 hours who won the nomination and it is to early to call it for anyone inlight of yesterday's events. However we are now certain of the closing time for the runoff and we will bring you vote updates as they come into us within an hour of closing time. Last night's Johnny and John show showed how the General Election will turn out. Faustus and Lucky the Democratic ticket clashed against both contenders for the nomination today, Copulate and Musicman. It is our opinion that Copulate benefited most from the show, but he has been steadily trailing Musicman for sometime now. Please join us for our show when will we have the Republican Nominee whoever he turns out to be at 10 om Est tonight as the runoff closes.

Republican Convention Results

(R)Musicman/Ghost 63

(R)Copulate/RSobien 55

U4prez GOP Convention Update #7: Musicman vs. Copulate Round 2

Well tonights runoff ended in another tie. It was close throughout the day, and the moderator has decided to continue the election into tomorrow. At 10:00 PM EST Tomorrow whoever has the most votes including today's totals will win the Republican Nomination after along grueling week. Its been a long night so Im done posting till tomorrow. Also we moved the time of my show to 10 PM EST tomorrow please join us.

U4prez GOP Convention Update #6: Election Returns

Republican Convention on U4prez Returns-

9:10 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 40
(R)Copulate/RSobien 39

Runoff was suppose to be over by now but I am being told the runoff will continue for another hour but I am uncertain at this point.

9:00 PM
(R)Copulate/RSobien 39
(R)Musicman/Ghost 38

7 mins to go and Musicman still leads by 3......

8:50 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 36
(R)Copulate/RSobien 33

8:30 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 35
(R)Copulate/RSobien 33

8:20 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 33
(R)Copulate/RSobien 32

8:10 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 32
(R)Copulate/RSobien 31

8:00 PM
(R)Musicman/Ghost 32
(R)Copulate/RSobien 29

7:20 PM
(R)Copulate/RSobien 29
(R)Musicman/Ghost 27

U4prez GOP Convention Update #5: The Final Runoff

Well with about 3 hours to go Musicman/Belanger and Copulate/Pseudonym are neck and neck. We probably wont officially know who the nominee will be until the final minutes of their runoff. The 2 candidates have been running neck and neck all day. The farthest they have been a part in numbers is 3. I just got off the phone with Musicman and he doesn't expect to know until about a few seconds until closing. It will be close. We'll check in from time to time to update you on how they stand. Just to let you know you are voting for 2 tickets Musicman-Sandrow Belanger/Ghost-Scott Wind and Copulate-Alias Pseudonym/RSobien/Randall Sobien.

Republican Convention Final Runoff Results as of 6:18 PM EST-
(R)Copulate/RSobien 25
(R)Musicman/Ghost 24

U4prez GOP Convention Update #4: Musicman vs. Copulate!

Well what was suppose to be the last day of convention ended in surprise. We just got a ruling from the Moderator, Musicman/Sandrow Belanger did tie Copulate/Alias Pseudonym yesterday! Hedrick narrowly lost the convention with 19 votes finished 3rd for the convention. Hedrick picked up steam towards the end of the day, but not enough to win the nomination. Tomorrow Copulate and Musicman face off in the same time of runoff and winner takes all! It should be close tomorrow. Same format as the rest of the convention. Both men are strong candidates for the General. Copulate busted Kempite, the former GOP frontrunner for cheating and won his seat for the convention, so his work re-cleansing the GOP may have helped him come from behind to win. Musicman is the biggest surprise he was expected not even to come close, but his campaign pushed and pushed and he was able to tie! Hawk only recieved 8 votes today another poor showing for who we assumed was the frontrunner with 2 primary wins. Well we'll report from the convention 1 last time tomorrow and hope to interview the Nominee Saturday!

Republican Convention Results

(R)Copulate/Alias Pseudonym 26
(R)Musicman/Sandrow Belanger 26

(R)Hedrick/Harold Hedrick 19
(R)Mduminiak/Mike Duminiak 10
(R)Sentinel/Charles Leivan 8

(R)Hawk/Tim Austin 8

(R)Efferiss/Frank Scoblink 5

U4prez GOP Convention Update #3

Day 3 of the GOP convention comes to a close with a possible tie. Musicman/Sandrow Belanger came so close. Within the last 10 mins of voting he gained 6 votes to come 1 shy of leading the pack for the nomination. It was certainly close. Probably made cop sweat a little towards the end. What a rollercoaster. In 10 mins Musicman went from 20-26. Musicman gained 1 vote needed to tie, but I believe the time limit expired before he could get that last vote. We are still unsure however. The moderator has yet to state either way. Copulate has just stated he is unsure of his 27 vote total so we are now unsure of the leader at this point. It is just too close to call. The assumed frontrunner with 2 primary wins, Hawk stands dead last with only 3 votes. Hawk gets another shot tomorrow and is expected to do alot better, since he will be online to campaign, and Hedrick, a alongtime frontrunner for the nomination is also expected to do well. It now comes down to 4 men for the nomination. Copulate, Musicman, Hawk and Hedrick. Should be good to watch tomorrow. Once we know we have a nominee we will announce it to you so stay tuned. Tomorrow is the last day of the convention and when the dust is cleared we will have a nominee.

Republican Convention Results as of 10/10/07

(Note: Vote Totals are Unofficial.)

(R)Copulate/Alias Pseudonym 26*

(R)Musicman/Sandrow Belanger 26*

(R)Mduminiak/Mike Duminiak 10

(R)Sentinel/Charles Leivan 8

(R)Efferiss/Frank Scoblink 5

(R)Hawk/Tim Austin 3

(R)Hedrick/Harold Hedrick X

X-Yet to be included in voting

Bold-Leader at this Point

Italics-Out of the race for the Nomination

*Unsure of vote total could be tie.

U4prez GOP Convention Update #2

Well Day 2 ends with a new leader on top of the pack. Copulate/Alias Pseudonym surged to 26 votes doubling Mduminiak's total uesterday of 10 and crushing Efferiss's 5 and Sentinel's 8. That means a candidate now must recieve more than 256votes to win the nomination. Copulate surprised everyone today and even himself. I spokle with Copulate last night and he doubted that he could even win. Now he has a huge lead in the race. Of Course 3 candidates have yet to come to vote and all 3 are leading Republican candidates so he doesn't have this won. yet. Copulate's vote toal brought out the voter turnout. Only 18 voted yesterday and today 30 voted. Well tomorrow Musicman and Hawk go at it to try to beat Copulate's 26 votes. Now comes crunchtime. I am expecting bigger totals each day.

Republican Convention Results as of 10/9/07

(R)Copulate/Alias Pseudonym 26

(R)Mduminiak/Mike Duminiak 10

(R)Sentinel/Charles Leivan 8

(R)Efferiss/Frank Scoblink 5

(R)Musicman/Sandrow Belanger X

(R)Hawk/Tim Austin X

(R)Hedrick/Harold Hedrick X

X-Yet to be included in voting.

Bold-Leader at this Point

Italics-Out of the Race for the Nomination

U4prez GOP Convention Update #1

Well the first day of the Republican Convention is drawing to a close and surprisingly low totals for Mduminiak/Mike Duminiak and Sentinel/Charles Leivan. By now Faustus37 or Lane Startin and James Welborn were at about 15-20 votes half of what was needed to clinch the nomination, and MD stands at 10 while Sentinel trails at 8. This gives Musicman/Sandrow Belanger, Copulate/Alias Pseudonym, Harold Hedrick, Hawk/Tim Austin and Efferiss/Frank Scoblink hope in winning the nomination. Right not It seems we have about 3 frontrunners, Hawk, Hedrick, and Musicman. Those 3 have been the most active in campaiging recently. Hawk also has 2 primary wins, the only Republican that does. Copulate's well-known name on the site also puts him right in there. The other candidates will likely circome to what Mduminiak and Sentinel are experiencing today with such a wide field for the Republican Nomination. Mduminiak currently leads the field and Sentinel is out for the nomination. If either the candidates recieve more then 10 Mduminiak will be out as well. Tomorrow, Copulate and Efferiss go at it for the nomination and hopefully will pass today's low turnout. Several are likely waiting till the bigger candidates come up for runoff.

Republican Convention Results as of 10/8/07

(R)Mduminiak/Mike Duminiak 10

(R)Sentinel/Charles Leivan 8

(R)Copulate/Alias Pseudonym X

(R)Efferiss/Frank Scoblink X

(R)Musicman/Sandrow Belanger X

(R)Hawk/Tim Austin X

(R)Hedrick/Harold Hedrick X

X-Yet to be included in voting.

Bold-Leader at this point

Italics-Out of the Race for the Nomination

Decision 2008: News out of Wyoming

Good news for Democrats this evening in increasing their control in congress. Now Democrats may have a shot at taking Wyoming's strong GOP senate seat. Rumors our now floating that Former Governor, Ambassador to Ireland, and '94 nominee Mike Sullivan (D) may run against Interim Sen. John Barrasso (R). That would throw the seat into play and now with Governor Dave Freudenthal (D) seems to be wanting to complete his term as Governor. Sullivan seems to be the Democrats last hope at winning our seat here in Wyoming. However the question is, is this just a rumor, or is Sullivan really considering another run for the U.S. Senate. Sullvan ran 13 years ago against then Congressman Craig Thomas and lost 59-39% which is a large margin but that was the Republican Revolution. Things have changed in Wyoming. Democrats picked up a few seat in the legislature (eventhough the GOP soundly controls it) in 2006. They also re-elected Governor Freudenthal by a 70-30% margin. Rep. Barbara Cubin's near defeat last Nov. was very surprising. Good the blood red state of Wyoming be turning a bit blue this Nov. we'll just have to wait and see.

U4prez Election Coverage #1: Startin on Politics-Central On Air

Well we just concluded a show with U4prez Democratic Nominee, Lane Startin or Faustus37. He and KT2020, or Katherine Siebert gave us an inside look at the Democratic platform and their campaign to win this November. After a few shaky parts it turned out to be a good show with Copulate giving us great questions and Donny or Lance Barnowitz making the show a little too interesting. The Faustus/Lucky ticket is already picking up steam likely from the "Rosty Bump" as we are now calling. We expect the U4prez GOP Nominee on the next week once he is selected by the Republicans this week. We expect a close race for the GOP Nomination between all of the candidates. Tim Austin or Hawk has the advantage with 2 primary wins, but Harold Hedrick's grassroots and Mduminiak's Name ID on the site gives them both equal shots. Efferiss, Copulate and Sentinel are also running. Copulate's wide base of support also puts him right in the fight for the nomination. I will continue posting about the GOP convention as the convention and voting unfolds. Remeber to vote this Monday-Thursday on http://www.u4prez.com/ for the Republican Nominee for President on u4prez.com.

Decision 2008: President Power Rankings #38

I apologize for the spacing, but Blogger wont let me fix it.

Republicans:

1st: Rudy Giuliani (steady) Strength in early states and national polls gives him the #1 spot for another week.

2nd: Mitt Romney (falling) Romney managed to hold on to leads in Iowa and NH although national support has fallen and he is down to 4th in national polls. If he loses either state Romney could be in serious trouble without support in key states on Super Tuesday.

3rd Tied: John McCain (rising) Still rising in polls in NH and South Carolina, 2 must-win states for him. He is now 2nd or 3rd in national polls. The McCain campaign seems to have revived itself but can the keep picking up steam to win the nomination especially after only raising $5 million in the 2nd Quarter.

3rd Tied: Fred Thompson (falling) Thompson remains strong nationally in about 2nd place only 5-10 points behind Giuliani, but worries are coming into his campaign with single digit numbers coming out of ARG and other new poll in early states. Thompson was also expected to raise the most money this quater but fell short of expectations.

5th: Mike Huckabee (falling) Huckabee who seemed to be a Top Tier candidate looking to be a darkhorse with Gingrich's exit, saw his chances dim as he only raised $1 million for his campaign this quarter. His campaign has yet to reach over $5 million this entire campaign. No candidate can expect to win with such low funding.

Democrats

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) I just saw one poll where it had Hillary over 50% nationally! 30 points ahead of Obama. Obama is trailing by 20 points nationally and Hillary leads in all 3 early states. Could this be a blow out for Hillary? Hillary also won the money race this quarter something she hasn't done once this year.

2nd: Barack Obama (falling) Obama may be falling nationally and lost the money race, but he has gained support in Iowa a state needed to take the nomination away from Hillary. If Hillary loses the state whoever wins it recievs a huge chance to beat her on Super Tuesday.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards has fallen to 3rd in a must-win state, Iowa. If he gets even 2nd he is out of the race, Edwards shows now poor national numbers ands single digits in NH. Not looking to good for the Edwards campaign.

4th: Bill Richardson (steady) Haven't heard too much out of his campaign lately. he has layed off the major advertizing that has made his campaign as successful as it has been, but he now trails in Nevada by 20 points. Not a good sign for presidential ambitions.

5th: Joe Biden (falling) Biden has no hope. He has started to advertize more, but polls just wont show 1 sign of hope for his campaign.

Faustus37/Lane Startin wins U4prez Democratic Nomination.

Faustus37 or Lane Startin today capped the Democratic nomination as many had expected with his 3 primary wins. Startin has been along time candidate and favorite on the site. He has picked Lucky_Num1 has his running mate. So far the Democratic nominee has the advantage with a decisive win over his opponents. Startin was the clear nominee of the Democrats and had been the frontrunner for months. Startin has put forward the Democratic platform and the Democrats are off for the General Election eagerly awaiting the Republican and Independent Nominees to emerge.

Democratic Convention Results

(D)Lane Startin (Faustus37) 45

(D)James Welborn (Welborn) 31

(D)BluProject 16

(D)Anthony Lacy (A.L.L.) 11

Politics-Central Endorses Harold Hedrick for President

After much consideration, Politics-Central has decided to endorse True Republican Florida College Student, Harold Hedrick for President on u4prez.com. Harold is a primary and is competiting for the Republican Nomination please come support him on u4prez.com!!!

Politics-Central U4prez Election Coverage

Politics-Central On Air is excited to announce that after each party convention we will sit down and speak with each nominee on why they should win in Nov. After we shall have the final U4prez Debate 2007 with the Republican, Democratic, and Independent nominees. Politics-Central is putting this on so you the voters can get to know your candidates for president. We gave you 3 previous debates they pitted leading candidates for primaries and nominations so you could get to know the major candidates. Now we are back with the nominees the actual candidates who have made it to the final stage.

Show Schedule: (schedule subject to change to meet with the candidates's schedules)

Oct. 13th 3 PM EST: Interview with the U4prez Democratic Nominee.

Oct. 20th 3 PM EST: Interview with the U4prez Republican Nominee.

Oct. 27th 3 PM EST: Interview with the U4prez Independent Nominee.

Nov. 3rd 8 PM EST: U4prez Nominee Debate between the 3 candidates.

Nov. 7th 8 PM EST: Election Night Coverage Coverage will continue throughout the night and days until the winner is known on politics-central.blogspot.com/

Decision 2008: Newt Gingrich out!

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich who seemd to be leaning towards entering the 2008 race decided not to yesterday. Ginigrich said after the end or his nationwide workshop he will not be a candidate for president in 2008, likely because he couldn't raise close to the money he needed to start a run for president. He said he needed $30 million and his FEC has raised only $3-6 million. With Ginigrch out more conservative voters are likely to support Fred Thompson, or John McCain in the top tier. Maybe Mike Huckabee will also get a bounce out of Gingrich's exit. Gingrich hasn't endorsed a candidate yet, and will likely not endorse a candidate until the convention when the nominee is selected. With Gingrich out that leaves the top tier candidates set for January and Feburary.

Top Tier candidates: Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and John McCain

2nd Tier candidates: Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul, and Tom Tancredo.

3rd Tier candidates: Duncan Hunter, Al Keyes, and John Cox.

Decision 2008: End of the Month Presidential Power Rankings #37

Here are September "End of the Month" Rankings.

Republicans:

1st: Rudy Giuliani (steady) His surprsing rsie on Mitt Romney in NH keeps him on top. He continues his dominating 7-10 point national lead in polls and remains this months frontrunner.

2nd: Mitt Romney (falling) His support in Iowa and NH as well as overall support is starting to drop. We could see a new 2nd place finisher next week. Romney has been in our #1 or 2 spot for the past 3 months.

3rd Tied: John McCain (rising) Most Pundits are eating their words when they said the McCain campaign was dead. He is onw only 5 points from the lead in both NH and SC and tied for 2nd in National Polls. McCain is now confident enough that his campaign willl start airing ads in NH and soon South Carolina.

3rd Tied: Fred Thompson (falling) His announcement bounce has died, and qucikly and he is back to his stable 4th-2nd polls in early states and 2nd nationwide. Thompson seems not be working too hard for the nomination and it is costing him dearly.

5th: Mike Huckabee (steady) Iowa is the only state he is polling above 5% which isn't a good sign for this campaign. He still leads the 2nd tier, but isn't quite 1st tier material.

6th: Newt Gingirch (rising) New buzz is out the Newt could annouce his campaign for president as early as next week. Gingirch seems to be moving closer to making a decision. If he does deicde to run he has a alot of ground to make up.

7th: Sam Brownback (steady) Brownback just isn't getting support anywhere except for his home of Kansas. His must-win Iowa isn't even giving him 3%. He may have to concentrate on 1 contest namely Iowa to even get in the high single digits.

8th: Ron Paul (steady) His popularity among young voters and the odd Republicans gives him broad support. If he doesn't do well here in the GOP look for the Libertarians to beg for him to come back.

9th: Tom Tancredo (steady) Congressman Tancredo is already planning his re-election campaign and not his Presidential General Election campaign. The signs are all over the wall. He isn't going anywher, but Colorado.

10th: Duncan Hunter (steady) Hunter seems to be traveling the country doing whatever he can to attract votes, but no one seems to be interested.

It seems as if this will be Hunter's last campaign.

11th: Alan Keyes (steady) Just recently joined the race and several don't even realize it. Keyes was invited to the All-American Forum so maybe just maybe he can get some support but hsi past 4 campaigns hvae ended no where near victory.

12th: John Cox (steady) We have decided to include Cox since he just got invited to the MSNBC GOP debate. Cox is the most successful non-major candidate running and the most conservative.

Democrats:

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Hillary now leads in every early state and nationwide according to recent polling. In fact I believe if today were Nov. 4th, 2008 Hillary would be elected president. Its along way to go and hopefully things will change. Note: Hillary has always recieved the #1 spot from Politics-Central.

2nd: Barack Obama (steady) Obama's campaign is losing steam and losing it fast! He has to get in gear to beat the Hillary train. The only way he can win is if he beats Hillary in Iowa.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Hs support is dwindling very quickly. His efforts our now maninly concentrated on winning Iowa. Without it the campaign is done.

4th: Bill Richardson (steady) Richardson continues to show poor debate performances. He really needs to improve. Look for hom to shoot for VP soon.

5th: Joe Biden (steady) Biden usually always holds this spot, because the rest of tier just stays about where it is.

6th: Chris Dodd (steady) Dodd has the experience, but he is just too unknown. His skill at debating does give him the very little support he does have.

7th: Dennis Kucinich (steady) His peace and anti-war antics give him attention but not support. This campaign will likely be like his 2004 one.

8th: Mike Gravel (steady) Gravel is the favorite at debates, but he is too unknown and we all know he wont go anywhere.

Decision 2008: 4 Presidential Hopefuls coming to Wyoming!!!

I have exciting news. I will attend a GOP President Forum here in my hometown of Casper, Wyoming where 4 candidates for president will attend. Unfortunately I can not record the forum for my listeners and none of the candidates have accepted interviews yet. I will keep trying but I can assure you I will be there to personally meet the candidates.

Expected to Attend:
Fmr. TN U.S. Senator Fred Thompson
KS U.S. Senator Sam Brownback
CO U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo
CA U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter

Unfortuantely the 6 other candidates turned down the offer to previous engagements. Former Governor Mitt Romney is still expected to visit Wyoming before the primaries are over.

U4prez Convention Rankings.

Well the convention schedule and primary winners are finally up and the race for party nominations begin:

Democratic Convention Oct. 1st-4th
Oct 1st: Faustus37 and Welborn
Oct 2nd: A.L.L. and Bluproject
Oct: 3rd: Faustus37 and Lucky_num1
Oct: 4th: Bluproject and Faustus37

Republican Convention Oct. 8th-12th
Oct 8th: Mduminiak and Sentinal
Oct 9th: Copulate and Efferiss
Oct 10th: Hawk and Musicman
Oct 11th: Hawk and Hedrick

Independent Convention Oct 15th-18th
Oct 15th: MejicoJohn and Maditude
Oct 16th: CoryF and BigDaddy
Oct 17th: Bob W. Hargis vs. Icababe

Our Rankings:

Republicans

1st: Harold Hedrick "Hedrick" (rising) according ro recent polls and recent support Hedrick seems to be the frontrunner for the nomination, hwoever we can't be too sure. The other candidates will give a tough race and an 18 year old winning the whole thing seems unlikely.

2nd: Tim Austin "Hawk" (steady) His 2 primary slots give him an advantage over the other candidates. His unactiveness on the site however doesn't make him the frontrunner.

3rd: Frank Scoblick "Efferiss" (steady) He looks to be a challenge to Hedrick, so we shouldn't call any winners yet.

4th: Ike J. Friday "Friday" (steady) Just when it seemed Friday was done Duminiak gave him his primary spot. It it unsure the mod. will allow this , but if it did he would be a leading candidate.

5th: Mike Duminiak "Mduminiak" (steady) He seems not to want the nomination too much with his GOP Leader spot coming up for election. Don't look for him to go far.

Democrats:

1st: Lane Startin "Faustus37" (rising) The Democrats have pretty much confirmed that Startin or Faustus will be their nominee. Lucky and Kt2020 2 leading Deomcrats endorsed him for the nomination, (Lucky looking to be VP). His only real challengers are now Welborn and Bluproject.

2nd: Danny "BluProject" (steady) With Lucky's endorsement of Faustus it appears only BluProject who is also a mutiple primary winner has the only real chance of defeating Faustus. His popularity needs to some serious work with Faustus' already huge advantage.

3rd: James Welborn "Welborn" (steady) Faustus has too wide of an advantage of this 1st Democratic Primary winner. His unactiveness will be his un-doing.

4th: Lucky-Num1 (steady) His endorsement of Faustus pretty much hands him the nomination, and him his VP slot. Look for a Faustus?Lucky Ticket out of the convention.

5th: Anthony Lacy "A.L.L" (falling) He is just too unknown and will likely recieve a poor number of support at the convention.

Independents

1st: Cory Froelich "CoryF" (steady) He does have a slight advantage being the most active Iny it appears, but he certainly does have a hand full with this spilt convention.

2nd Tied: Bob W. Hargis (steady) He has surged quickly to success on the site and will his freshness to the site be his undoing? Not really. His popularity overrides it too well.

2nd Tied: Barry Davidson "Icababe" (steady) Immense popularity in the Independents. Davidson should perform well in the convention. He is the favorite for re-election as Independent Party Leader.

4th Tied: Mike Weinheimer "Maditude" (steady) His popularity on the site and his early primary win may surge him to victory. No Independent can be counted out on this one.

4th Tied: John Averitt "MejicoJohn" (steady) His unorthodox ways have made him very successful on the site. Look for him to do well also.

5th: BigDaddy (steady) His just recent switch to Independents gives his oppoents a big advantage, but It shouldn't hurt him too bad. Just bad enough to be last in rankings.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #36

Republicans:

1st: Rudy Giuliani (falling) his numbers now in early states are slipping and his lead nationally is slipping fat with McCain and Thompson gaining on him. We may see a new frontrunner soon.

2nd: Mitt Romney (steady) Still leading in Iowa and NH, he holds a good shot at becoming the nominee. Romney's Ames Straw Poll bounce has died though and with his poor national numbers he could miss out of the nomination.

3rd Tied: Fred Thompson (steady) His announcement bounce has finally died out and he is back to his old numbers. He has poor numbers in Iowa and NH, but comes in 2nd in most polls nationally and leads in South Carolina.

3rd Tied: John McCain (rising) Everyone must agree McCain has been experiencing a modest bounce in polls since his great appearence in the FOX News debate 2 weeks ago. He is tied nationally for 2nd in several polls and comes in close 3rds and 1 2nd in polls in NH and South Carolina. Dont count McCain out yet.

5th: Mike Huckabee (steady) His bounce has also ended since Ames and is starting to struggle again. If Next does jump in he could be in some serious trouble.

Democrats:

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Clinton now is seen as the one to beat out of the whole presidential race. Everyone is aiming at her and she could benefit from this. Democrats seem to be backing her more and more. She may have the nomination locked up soon.

2nd: Barack Obama (falling) Obama continues to fall in national polls and his lead in South Carolina is gone. Obama may just be getting his name out there for another run in 2012 or '16.

3rd: John Edwards. (falling) Edwards has lost his must win state lead in Iowa to Hillary. His support is also falling nationally. His only hope is Iowa.

4th: Bill Richardson (falling) Richardson remains about the same as last time we posted there, but his debate opinions and many other things have gotten him into trouble.

5th: Joe Biden (steady) Biden continues to campaign hard and doesn't look to quit for awhile eventhough he is just getting worse and worse in polls

U4prez Rankings #5.

Well we are almost ready for the conventions. The primary winners in the parties are ready and have won their slots. Here are the candidates we know are in the running.

Confirmed Primary Winners for each party

Republicans:

Harold Hedrick (Hedrick)

Mike Duminiak (Mduminiak)

Tim Austin (Hawk)

Alias Pseudonym (Copulate)

Frank R. Scoblink (Efferiss)

Democrats:

Lane Startin (Faustus37)

Lucky_Num1

Anthony Lacy A.L.L.

Independents

Mike Weinheimer (Maditude)

John Averitt (MejicoJohn)

Barry Davidson (Icababe)

Cory Froelich (CoryF)

Big Daddy

Bob W. Hargis

Republicans:

1st: Harold Hedrick "Hedrick"(rising) Hedrick won the last primary slot with a come from behind win. He now has his sights on the GOP nomination. Can an 18 year old college student win it? Harold certainly will have something to say about that.

2nd: Tim Austin "Hawk" (steady) With Kempite out Hawk now seems to be the favorite among the GOP with 2 primary wins an several votes. Hawk will certainly be a contender at the convention.

3rd: Alias Pseudonym "Copulate" (rising) Busting Kempite, calling for MD's resignation as GOP Leader and winning Kempite's primary slot. Boy he has been busy. Cop who has been seen as a leader this past 2 weeks in the wake of the huge cheating scandal may surge to victory with his strong raw score, but now in the convention that doesn't matter.

4th: Mike Duminiak "MDuminiak" (falling) Calls for his resignation as GOP leader have been made and his invlovement with the unpopular Kempite have made him very unpopular. His support, or what support he had left is dwindling.

5th: Frank K Scoblink (Efferiss) His priamry win puts him in the running as well.

Democrats

1st: Lane Startin "Faustus37" (rising) His 3 primary wins give him the advantage over his two challengers will primary victories. His experience and popularity could cruise him to victory.

2nd: Lucky_Num1 (steady) His last primary win gives him a good shot at defeating the undefeatable Faustus. He seems to be coming down to both the leading Democrats on the site.

3rd: Anthony Lacy "A.L.L." (steady) His only primary win makes him a viable candidate and he will likely get all the votes that dont like the top 2.

4th: Katherine Siebert "Kt2020 (steady) She will likely just support the nominee than promote her write-in candidacy. Newt week she will be out of our rankings.

5th: No other strong contender.

Independents

1st: Cory Froelich "CoryF" (rising) High rankings Indy and recent primary winner. His campaign will likely go far. He seems to be leading the field as of now.

2nd: Mike Weinheimer "Maditude" (rising) Gearing up for the convention. It seens his run may make this a near 4-way race.

3rd: Barry Davidson "Icababe" (rising) He also win a primary slot and is also Indyleader. Being both gives him a good advantgae.

4th: John Averitt "MejicoJohn" (steady) He does have a primary win but he doesn't seem to be trying too hard for the slot.

5th: Bob W. Hargis (steady) Being an actual presidential candidate and huge popularity on the site gives him some clout on the site.

Decision 2008: Johanns runs in Nebraska.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns will soon resign from the Bush Administration to run for Nebraska's now open U.S. Senate seat. Johanns, a former 2 term Governor of Nebraska, enters had the current favorite in the GOP state. He leads Attorney General Jon Bruning by almost 10 points in the primary and if the GOP in Nebraska has half a brain they will lose Bruning and go with Johanns. Johanns currently holds the advantage over Former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey who also served as Governor. Kerrey, a Democrat currently resides in NY and hasn't been in contact with Nebraska since he left the senate and almost ran for Mayor of New York City. Johanns left to serve in the cabinet but has stayed into contact with Nebraska for some time. I am going to change our rating for this race and say it Leans Republican Hold. Kerrey will have a tough race against Johanns.

Decision 2008: U.S. Senate Races

Here are our 2nd look at the U.S. Senate races in 2008:

Arkansas U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Mark Pryor is looking for another term and will likely get it with his wide popularity, but if Former Governor Mike Huckabee were to drop out early of the presidential race and run for the seat like the GOP hopes, this race will become competitive.

Our Rating: Likely Democratic Hold


Colorado U.S. Senate Race: With GOP Incumbent Wayne Allard retiring it looks as if the GOP will lose this seat. Former Congressman Bob Schaffer will likely lose to Congressman Mark Udall who currently has the most support. Schaffer still holds a chance in the race, but a very slim one.

Our Rating: Likely Democratic Pick-Up

Idaho U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Larry Craig who was expected to resign, but now seems to be looking to fight on makes this Safe GOP seat vulreable. If Craig remains and somehow wins renomination by his party with his challenegr Former Congressman Larry LaRocco is praying for, we could see this once immpossible sceneiro come true. Dont look for to happen though. Craig is expected to resign and Lt. Governor Jim Risch will take his place and crush LaRocco, and even if Craig doesn't resign and runs Risch or some other GOP will likely defeat him.

Our Rating: Likely Republican Hold

Iowa U.S. Senate Race: Longtime Incumbent Tom Harkin will likely cruise to an easy re-election. Congressmen Steve King and Tom Laham may however decide to jump in and give Harkin a challenge.

Our Rating: Safe Democratic Hold

Louisiana U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Mary Landrieu is on the GOP's target list but no one wnats to run against her. She may squeeze by. The only possible challenger left is Democrat turned Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy (No relation to the famed Kennedy's in MA). Kennedy is expected to run making this race a toss-up as of now.

Our Rating: Toss-Up

Maine U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Susan Collins leads her likely challenger Congressman Tom Allen by a wide margin, but Allen's will surely pounce on Collins for breaking her promise of only serving 3 terms. Look for Collins's lead to dwindle, but for her to likely hold on.

Our Rating: Likely Republican Hold

Minnesota U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Norm Coleman has fallen 10 points in the polls to possible challengers, Comedian Al Franken. and Attorneys Mike Ciresi, and Jim Cohen. Coleman who seemed in danger and then safe is back in danger and #1 on the Democrats hit list next year.

Our Rating: Slight Republican Hold

Nebraska U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Chuck Hagel's exit from the race makes this once safe GOP seat become wide-open. Attorney General Jon Bruning currently leads the race for the GOP nomination over Fmr. Congressman and Omaha Mayor Hal Daub, but should U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and Former Governor Mike Johanns run for the seat, a bitter primary race would arouse. A new primary poll shows Johanns leading Bruning 39-30%. The Democrats are trying to draft Former U.S. Senator and Governor Bob Kerrey into the race. If Kerrey did run he would certainly get the nomination and lead the race to succeed Hagel. Kerrey is widely popular in the state and is expected to announce his intentions soon.

Our Rating: Toss-Up

New Hampshire U.S. Senate Race: Sen. John Sununu is #1 on the Democrats' sights to defeat in 2008. Former NH Governor and 'o2 Challenger Jeanne Shaheen has announced she will run next year against Sununu and currently enjoys a 15-20 point lead. Sununu needs to seriously concentrate if he wishes to win next year.

Our Rating: Likely Democratic Pick-Up

New Mexico U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Pete Domenici is expected to cruise to re-election even though his popularity has dwindled. Democrats can't seem to recruit a strong enough candidate and Domenici is leading in polls by wide margins.

Our Rating: Likely Republican Hold

North Carolina U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Elizabeth Dole is expected to cruise to re-ecltion with Congressman Brad Miller backing out of the race. Dole is very popular and no strong candidates dare challenge her.

Our Rating: Safe Republican Hold

Oregon U.S. Senate: Sen. Gordon Smith is expected to win re-election next year, but State Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley could give him a run for his money. Democrats will likely pay no attention to this race and let Smith slide.

Our Rating: Likely Republican Hold

South Dakota U.S. Senate Race: Sen. Tim Johnson after his recovery has become so popular that he should glide to a easy win next year. The only way he would lose would be if Governor Mike Rounds ran against him.

Our Rating: Likely Democratic Hold

Virginia U.S. Senate Race: Sen. John Warner's retirement pretty much hands the seat to the Democrats. Former Governor Mark Warner who was thought to be thinking about running for president in 2008, deicded to run for the now open seat next year. He is the wide favorite, but Sen. Warner's choice and several other prominent GOP's in the state's choice Congressman Tom Davis and Former Governor and RNC Chairman Jim Gilmore who just ended his presidential bid, will have something to say in this race. Gov. Warner leads in the state by 20 points in early polls.

Our Rating: Likely Democratic Pick-up.

Our 2008 Predictions
U.S. Senate
Democrats 53 +3
Republicans 45 -3
Independents 2 +0
Toss-Ups 2

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #35

Sorry about the 2 week break from these rankings:

Republicans:

1st: Rudy Giuliani (steady) Gaining in early states and still holds on to a narrow national lead over Fred Thompson. Giuliani's didn't get a bounce out of 9/11 and he shouldn't have. Mr. Giuliani don't use a tragedy to spark your campaign.

2nd Tied: Fred Thompson (rising) New national polls have Fred Thompson nearly tied with Giuliani, probably a bounce from his announcement last week. It will surely die down soon.

2nd Tied: Mitt Romney (steady) Still leads in Iowa and NH, but Romney is slowly losing ground in alll 3. Dont expect the other candidates to let him cruise to the nomination.

4th: John McCain (rising) After the FOX debate McCain is riding on his biggest bounce since his campaign fell apart. All rumors of him dropping out after his funds are matched have died and he is considered a major candidate again. New National polls show him in single digits of the lead and NH and SC polls are brightening for him.

5th: Mike Huckabee (rising) Iowa polls all show him in 3rd or 4th keeping him a viable darkhorse candidate. If one of the 4 major candidates fall a part Huckabee could talk his place.

Democrats:

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Hillary rises to the top by wider margins than before. Now leading by 20 points nationally. If she picks up leads in Iowa and strengthens her lead in South Carolina she could very easily clinch the nomination before Super Tuesday.

2nd: Barack Obama (falling) The Hillary train is leaving him at the station will huge leads nearly everywhere. Obama is dropping out of attention as Hillary centers news and the GOP race takes the news.

3rd: John Edwards (falling) Edwards has lost steam in Iowa even though he is rising with Al Gore certainly not running in 2008 as several expected. Edwards is also seeing Hillary pass right by him in his all important Iowa.

4th: Bill Richardson (steady) His bounce has halted and he slips to the high single digits in most polls. He leads the 2nd tier of candidates, but it doesn't seem he can crack the doe to get into the top tier. Richardson seems to be vying for Hillary's VP.

5th: Joe Biden (steady) Doing everything he can to keep his near dead campaign alive. Biden is expected to quit after the 1st primaries and campaign for re-election.

U4prez Rankings #3

Here are this week's u4prez Rankings.



Republicans:

1st: Anthony Del Pellegrino "Kempite" (steady) Has been leading the U4prez GOP in raw scores and votes for quite some time. His early primary win entitles him for the GOP convention, but will his recent scandals and unpopularity hurt his chances. The GOP might bank on a more winnable candidate.

2nd: Tim Austin "Hawk " (steady) 2 primary wins gives him the electability factor. He hasn't been involved in scandals or unpopularity so he might upset Kempite.

3rd: Mike Duminiak "MDuminiak" (steady) Looking for his 2nd primary win since his recent runoff victory. 2wins would give him some clout in the convention.

4th: Harold Hedrick "Hedrick" (steady) Looking for a win in this month's primary with his recent runoff victory. He faces 2 tough challenges though for the primary.

5th: Tyrone Carr "tyronecarr"(rising) He just recently joined u4prez and amazed us all with gaining 1000 votes so quickly and getting in the finals for this month's primary. If he doesn't win this primary he certainly does have a good shot as a write-in or in next years' season.

Democrats

1st: Lane Startin "Faustus37" (rising) for the 3rd week in a row Startin leads the rankings among Democrats. Startin has his 3 primary wins and his huge popularity to bank on. Really his only real challenge for the nomination is Lucky_num1.

2nd: "Lucky_num1" (rising) Just off his September Democratic primary win over KT2020. This huge win positions him in line to challenge A.L.L. and Faustus in the convention. The other primary winners have dropped out.

3rd: Anthony L. Lacy "A.L.L. (steady) He won the August Primary so he is entitled to face off in the convention. Not much is known about him so he won't go far.

4th: Katherine Siebert "kt2020 (steady) Now she is going to have to run a write-in campaign with Lucky's win. I see her more leading as the Dem. leader then running her own campaign.

5th: No real other candidates in line.

Independents

1st: Mike Weinheimer "Maditude" (steady) Seems to be one of the most popular independents and a primary win makes him eligable.

2nd: Cory Froelich "CoryF" (steady) Leads rankings, but doesn't have a primary. Maybe his write-in strength may bring him to the top.

3rd: James Averitt "MejicoJohn" (steady) His primary win and popularity on the site keeps him in the running, but he rally doens't seem to interested.

4th: Barry Davidson "Icababe" (steady) Just became the new Indyleader. His new position may strengthen his rankings and help his write-in campaign if he doesn't win the primary.

5th: Randall Sobien"RSobien" (steady) Still a high ranking independent. maybe the upcoming runoffs will be kind to him.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!!!!!

Tomorrow is the 6th anniversary of the tragedy of the attack on September 11th, 2001. That was the day we all remember as the day terrorists hijacked planes flew them into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and fields of PA and destroying the center killing 3,000 innocent civilians. Tomorrow please pray for the loved ones of those who lost their lives that faithful day and please say a prayer for our troops who are fighting because of that horrific attack.

Decision 2008: Hagel Out

Today officials stated Nebraska U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel will announce his retirement from politics this week. Hagel will not run for re-election in 2008 nor will he run for president or vice president as a Republican or an Independent. Hagel has been called one of President Bush's harshest critics of the War in Iraq and the troop surge. The decision comes as General Petreaus delivers his report to congress. Hagel opens his U.S. Senate seat for contest. Republicans already running are State Attorney General Jon Bruning, and Financial Analyst Pat Flynn. Former Congressman and Omaha Mayor Hal Daub is also considering a run and is looking to run since Hagel will not. Bruning had already been leading Hagel in priamry polls and leads Daub and Flynn by double digits. Democrats are trying to recruit Former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska to run. Kerrey almost ran in 2005 for Mayor of New York City hwoever decided against it. Kerrey has yet to leave a comment about Hagel's retirement. Republicans are also trying to recruit Former Governor and Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns to seek the seat if Kerrey jumps in. This seat will obviously be very contested.

U4prez Candidate Rankings #2

Here are your u4prez Rankings as the runoffs for the site for the last slots for the conventions are being fought for.

Republicans:

1st: Anthony Pel Pellegrino "Kempite" (rising) Having won a primary and recieved over 8000 votes, Kempite has gone above and beyond in seeking the GOP nomination. His constant popularity on the site makes him very viable and the leader with Friday's loss last month.

2nd: Tim Austin "Hawk" (steady) Active member and winner of 2 primaries. He may be a formidable challenge to Kempite come the convention.

3rd: Mike Duminiak "MDuminiak" (steady) Several forget he has won a primary, but he is entitled to move on in the nominating process. Being GOP leader, makes him a very viable candidate, but his "C0-Most Evil Republican" will not be easy to beat.

4th: Harold Hedrick "Hedrick" (steady) Doing well in rankings and a frequent debator. I see him as a possible September Primary winner.

5th: Ike J. Friday "Friday" (falling) After his stunning defeat a few weeks ago in the August Primaries, Friday is in trouble. He does well in the rankings, but if he doesn't win this one he is out. He faces an uphill battle.

Democrats

1st: Lane Startin "Faustus37" (steady) More of the Hillary Clinton on the u4prez race leading in every way. He has won 3 primaries and recieved over 5,000 votes. Oh and did we mention he is running for Governor of Idaho in 2010? Startin or Faustus has it all.

2nd: Katherine Siebert "Kt2020" (steady) The current Democratic Party Leader is on her way now to winning the final primary slot by winning a runoff a few days ago. Her only challenge seems to by Lucky_num1.

3rd: Name Unknown "Lucky_num1" (steady) He is currently in the ranks for the final primary slot, and nearly beat Faustus in a monthly primary so watch for him to do well.

4th: Anthony L. Lacy "A.L.L." (steady) Hasn't breached the 1,000 vote mark yet but won the August Primary. Not quite sure how that workssince his rankings aren't that high and he doesn't have too many votes to his raw score can't be that high. He still won a primary and thats what counts.

5th: Corey P. Cronin "Corkey" (steady) Still hoping to be included in a runoff, with 2,000 votes and being in the top 5. Its not likely so better luck next year Corkey.

Independents

1st: Cory Froelich (steady) Still leading in rankings and and in support. Could win this month's primary.

2nd: Mike Weinheimer "Maditude"(steady) Winning a primary and remaining popular on the site gives him an advantage compared to others.

3rd: John Averitt "Mejicojohn" (steady) His unorthodox ways seem to make him popular on u4prez. He won a primary and has nearly 6,000 votes so that is impressive.

4th: Barry Davidson "Icababe" (steady) Looking for a primary win. His numbers and supporters just may do it for him. He remains in the Top 5.

5th: Randall Sobien "RSobien" (steady) Sobien is also in the fight for the last primary slot. He will also put up a good fight.

Decision 2008: Fred Thompson is FINALLY in!

Last night Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson announce on the Tonight Show he was running for president and ran an ad during the GOP Debate. Today he kicked off his campaign by touring Iowa. He is off to NH and South Carolina now. I feel this was a bad move for Thompson. While McCain got a small bounce out of last night's debate, Thompson being a no show helped his opponents steal the spotlight. Thompson may have come acrossed as inexperienced. Thompson is only a 9 year senator compaired to McCain's 3 decade career in congress and Giuliani's 8 years as Mayor and 20 years of Legal experience. Thompson and Romney suffer in the experience issue and coming across as the most staright forward. Last night most saw McCain as the most startight forward and oepened the race to a 4 way horse race maybe a 5 way with Huckabee gaining. McCain gains 4 points according to Rasmussen nationally since the debate and has remained in 3rd in NH and Sc. If he can win NH which is a must win for him at this point he can cap an amazing comeback. The numbers and fundraising isn't quite there yet however. Thompson's chance has come and gone in my opinion. Everyone has lost excitement over him.He waited too long to enter and fundraising may also be his downfall. If Newt Gingrich got in look for him to kill Thompson's chances and open a 4 way with Romney and Rudy leading and McCain and Huckabee nearly trailing.

Decision 2008: 1st Woman President....Hillary??

Can New York U.S. Senator, and Former First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton really win the White House and become the first female president? Recent polling data show her well on her way to becoming the 1st woman president. New General Election Match-up Polls have her leading all of the GOP frontrunners, but Rudy Giuliani. Clinton now is seen as the presumptive nominee of the Democrats with a 20-point nationally and her leads in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina growing. Barack Obama and John Edwards are doing poorly in trying to stop her rise to becoming the 1st woman nominated by a major political party. Hillary Clinton now leads in Battleground states of Missouri Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illionis, and New York (againsit Rudy) which if she carried all the other states Kerry carried in 2004 she would have the neccessary votes to win the presidency. Currently if the GOP nominates Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton may cruise into the White House. National Polls have her defeating Romney by double digits and he is losing even in the red state Colorado to her according to Rasmussen. Another possible GOP loss would be the nominating of Fred Thompson who loses Ohio and Florida to Clinton and those 2 states decided the past 2 elections. Only Rudy Giuliani and John McCain seem to have the polling power to defeat Hillary. McCain polls poorly in the GOP but wins Ohio Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and early ARG polls had him defeating her in NH and New jersey but isn't likely now. Rudy Giuliani loses his homestate of NY by wide margins, however he also wins over Florida, Ohio, and several New England states. Even with this Rudy is neck and neck in polls with Hillary Clinton. Hillary's favorablitliy numbers are higher than her husband's and President Bush's before they won their elections to office. Hillary certainly has the fundraising, and the media attention to win the White House. Also having a Former President on the campaign with her helps gain support. The Comeback Kid has a few roots in NH and other early states and won the White House twice before so having Bill Clinton on the campaign gives her a plus. The attacks she has been recieving is as if she is the incumbant running for re-election and thats how her opponents see her. To sum this up we should really keep an eye on the Hill campaign, because she seems to be skyrocketing to becoming the first women in the Oval Office.

Jim Risch to be named Craig's replacement.

We have just recieved word that Governor Butch Otter will name State Lieutnant Governor Jim Risch, Larry Criag's replacement in the U.S. Senate our sources tell us. Risch was expected to challlenge Craig in the 2008 Primary before the scandal erupted. Risch is expected to run for a full term of office. No statement yet from Risch himself, but officials say Governor Otter will name Risch U.S. Senator.

Decision 2008: Presidential Power Rankings #34

Here are your End of the Month Rankings for the 2008 Presidential Race. I apologize for the delay.

Republicans

1st: Rudy Giuliani (steady) Giuliani leads nationally and more early states areb turning his way but for awhile his campaign has been at a tsnad still with little media coverage while his challengers Romney, Thompson and Huckabee steal the spotlight. Giuliani may be hut by this.

2nd: Mitt Romney (rising) Mitt has nowehere to go, but up since Ames. His surge in Iowa and NH keeps him strong. His polls and fundraising totals are going up and up and a Gallup poll put him 2nd with 16% nationally. Romney really does have a shot at winning the GOP nomination.

3rd: Fred Thompson (falling) His announcement may give him some buzz, but it is our opinion that his chance has come and gone in winning. His polls remain strong but he is losing more and more suport day by day.

4th Tied: Mike Huckabee (rising) Since ames Huckabee has been a spark. He now leads McCain and Thompson in Iowa in 3rd place with 14%. He seems to be the rising star of the party and turned a dime into a doallr with Ames. I say keep an eye on him he may surprise you.

4th Tied: John McCain (falling) His polls now avearge 10% which his 15 point down from June when his decline began. McCain still is considered a major contender, but he really needs to step it up a notch.

6th: Newt Gingrich (falling) Looking to announce in a month's time. Gingrich may put a new story in this ever exciting GOP race, however his baggage will keep him from winning the nomination.

7th: Sam Brownback (steady) Didn't get quite the spot he wanted at Ames, but he still remains the leader of the 2nd tier with Huckabee's accensionto the top tier. Brownback shouldn't go far.

8th: Ron Paul (steady) Such strength in fundraising, on the internet, and among the youth, keeps Paul in this race and should be in it till the bitter ed. he could run for the Libertarian nomination and continue till November if he has to.

9th: Tom Tancredo (steady) He did well at Ames coming in 4th, but he is alrwayd discussing re-election plans instead of presidential plans so you know his campaign is near the end.

10th: Duncan Hunter (falling) Getting ziltch amount of support at Ames and concentrating on his sons's campaign to succed him in congress. The closest Hunter will get to the White House is the tour.

Democrats

1st: Hillary Clinton (rising) Nothing in my mind tells me that Hillary won't get the nomination, easily. Her national lead is 20+ points and she has gained leads in Iowa and NH. With more steady campaigning Hillary should have this locked up and can begin campaigning in the general.

2nd: Barack Obama (falling) His polls continue to fall and support for him is disappearing every day. Obama gave it a good shot, but he really jsut can't best Hillary's momentum.

3rd: John Edwards (steady) Edwards may be the Democrats only hope at not nominating Hillary. With a win in Iowa he could get a strong finish in NH and possibly win SC giving him strength in the south. It doesn't look as if that will happen as his Iowa polls fall.

4th: Bill Richardson (steady) One of the worse performances a a forum I have evr seen he should have just skipped that Gay forum. Richardson's numbers still remain strong in Iowa and NH so we may actually see him pull something. Look for him to go for veep.

5th: Joe Biden (falling) Biden hasn't recieved any attention and won't for quite some time. Look for him to bow out early and run for re-election.

6th: Chris Dodd: (falling) Dodd remains too far behinfd to catch up. Dodd, Richardson, and Biden are the most experienced Democrats running and none are expected to come close.

7th: Dennis Kucinish (steady) Kucinich's campaign is running just as his 2004 campaign did. He will likely never break the 3% mark.

8th: Mike Gravel (steady) Gravel isn't going anywhere and seems to just be using his campaign so he can be heard.

Decision 2008: Fred Thompson to announce Thursday!

Former Tennessee U.S. Senator and Law and Order star, Fred Thompson declared today that he shall formally announce his canddiacy for president on Thursday Sept. 6th. Thompson had been speculated to run sincr April, however he took his time about entering. Thompson said his late entry would not effect his involvement in Iowa or NH or any of the early contests. Thompson comes in as the race for the GOP nomination becomes heated. Right now frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney lead with John McCain struggling to catch up. Sen. Thompson's numbers have lagged in recent days, but he still should perform well. many wonder whther he will be able to catch Romney and Giuliani is fundraisiing since they have a 6 month head start on him. Thompson's late entry does hurt his chances since he is now at a month low in national polls.

Idaho U.S. Senator Larry Craig to step down.

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who has been embattled lately because of his scandal in an airport bathroom, will announce tomorrow he will resign as a U.S. Senator from Idaho. This comes after the Republican Party's push to force him out of office. Presidential Candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain, the RNC, Sen. Norm Coleman, and even the White House have asked for Craig's resignation. Now that Craig is out of office, Idaho moves out of the danger zone of turning Democratic and the seat up for election in 2008 should remain GOP. Several were worried that if Criag remained in office and was somehow remoninated by the Idaho GOP that this republican seat would go Democratic. However there is no doubt that the seat will remain in the GOP's corner. Possible replacements for Sen. Craig include: Lt. Governor Jim Risch, State Treasurer Ron Crane, U.S. Congressman Bill Sali and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. Former Congressman Larry LaRocco is currently running as a Democrat to succeed Craig. I support Craig's withdrawal from the senate, because of his denial of the Late Craig Thomas's Memorial Bill on National Parks. Thomas as I have previously stated was my senator and I knew that that bill meant alot to him. Craig is irresonsible and shouldn't of even been in any criminal circumstance as a U.S. Senator.