Political Radar: Giuliani, Rudy

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The Note: Plumber Can’t Unclog Race for McCain

October 23, 2008 8:50 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

As the great battle of Joe the Overexposed Plumber vs. Barack the Overspending Campaigner rages on (with Sarah the Overdressed Hockey Mom as sideshow), there’s another game playing out, just over their heads.

Sen. Barack Obama is now in the enviable position of seeking to become president by looking presidential.

Sen. John McCain, meanwhile, knows that he can only become president by making his rival look un-presidential. (Two Joes -- the Plumber and the Senator -- are being enlisted to help.)

It may be a subtle distinction, but it matters for the home stretch. McCain is throwing it all at him now -- taxes and spending and flip-flops and plumbers and terrorism (and terrorists).

A closing argument (at last) comes together: McCain is portraying Obama as too risky to be president.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

“He’ll say anything to get elected,” McCain said of Obama Wednesday night, per ABC’s Bret Hovell.

A line that says just as much about where Obama stands: “I feel like we got a righteous wind at our backs here,” Obama said Wednesday in Leesburg, Va., ABC’s Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller report.

Regardless of the source of that breeze, Obama is in a stage of his campaign where he can ease perceptions of risk just by showing up. (Or not showing up: He’s set to drop off the electoral map for 48 hours, to visit his grandmother in Hawaii after a Thursday morning campaign event in Indianapolis.)

It’s 54-43 in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll -- and the portrait of a president begins to emerge.

“Barack Obama has shored up his experience rating to the point where it now surpasses George W. Bush's in 2000 and matches Bill Clinton's in 1992, addressing what has been Obama's greatest vulnerability in the presidential election,” ABC Polling Director Gary Langer writes. “Fifty-six percent of likely voters now say Obama has the experience it takes to serve effectively as president, up from 48 percent after the Republican convention. That's now better than George W. Bush's rating just in advance of the 2000 election.”

“Former secretary of state Colin Powell's endorsement provides a new boost for Obama, who has made significant progress with voters as a leader in international affairs,” per The Washington Post’s Jon Cohen. “But Obama also continues to be lifted by more fundamental advantages, including a 2 to 1 advantage on ‘helping the middle-class.’ ”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

October 23, 2008 in Ballotwatch, Biden, Joe, Giuliani, Rudy, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (232)

The Note: McCain Plumbs for Message -- But Can’t Fix All Leaks

October 16, 2008 8:31 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- If your campaign is clogged, call Joe the Plumber. (Then call him again, and again.)

The third and final debate might have been a good first debate for Sen. John McCain. Scattered across the stage at Hofstra University was the broad case against Sen. Barack Obama -- along with a plumber who gives McCain the start of an economic message, in an old GOP comfort zone.

But McCain gave voters an awful lot to digest Thursday night: He played all the angles at once -- a lot for a campaign that’s generally settled on one new campaign message per day.

McCain had what was probably his strongest debate night -- yet even if there was time to build on something, it’s not clear what that something would be. No single moment (or moment after moment after moment, Joe) appears likely to change the direction of a race that’s shifted clearly against McCain.

What’s left is a campaign running out of time and options -- plunging ahead on a diminished map, in a hostile climate, out-spent and out-maneuvered, though not, for a night at least, out-hustled.

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos scores it as McCain’s best performance -- and reports that Joe the Plumber (and surely the story his story tells -- he’s already been invited to a McCain rally, the plumber himself told Diane Sawyer Thursday morning) may make it into late McCain advertisements.

But Obama’s win on style gave him the edge he came to Long Island with: “Ultimately, McCain didn't do enough to stop people from voting for Obama,” Stephanopoulos says.

“He really didn’t land a knockout blow on Barack Obama, and Obama appeared very calm,” Stephanopoulos said on “Good Morning America” Thursday. Obama, meanwhile, “won the battle of the split-screens.”

McCain had his best moments early: “It looked like Mr. McCain might, just might, raise the level of his game in throwing Mr. Obama off his,” Patrick Healy writes in The New York Times. “But then Mr. McCain began to undercut his own effort to paint Mr. Obama as just another negative politician. Mr. McCain grew angry as he attacked Mr. Obama over his ties to William Ayers, the Chicago professor who helped found the Weather Underground terrorism group. Suddenly, Mr. McCain was no longer gaining ground by showing command on the top issue for voters, the economy; he was turning tetchy over a 1960s radical.”

Palinesque? “It seemed as if Mr. McCain was veering from one hot button to another, pressing them all, hoping to goad Mr. Obama into an outburst or a mistake that would alter the shape of the race in its last three weeks,” Healy writes.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

October 16, 2008 in Giuliani, Rudy, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (147)

The Note: McCain Seeks One More Storyline

October 14, 2008 8:33 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Tuesday's Note:

So the Dow won its points back -- where does Sen. John McCain go to get HIS points back?

He's a day late, and $7.5 billion short (as measured by price tags). After realizing that it's all about the economy -- then seemingly forgetting it -- and after saying he would unveil new economic proposals -- then saying he wouldn't -- Team McCain on Tuesday turns the page back, again, to the only issue that's likely to really matter between now and Election Day.

Maybe Sen. Barack Obama really IS right where McCain wants him. (But maybe, since he spent Monday in Virginia and North Carolina, McCain was where Obama wanted HIM).

Assuming McCain, R-Ariz., hasn't precisely been where he wanted to be, this may be his way only way back -- with only a few detours, as arranged by Bill Ayers. His next step comes on a day where investors look to breathe again -- as he hopes that the public takes one more deep breath before Election Day.

From the McCain campaign Tuesday morning: "John McCain will address the ongoing economic crisis, with a special emphasis on those most badly hurt: workers, homeowners, savers, and seniors. He will announce specific proposals to build on his Resurgence Plan, which uses the $700 billion to keep Americans in their homes, stop the drop in housing values, stabilize financial markets and turn the corner on the crisis by charting New Directions for Workers, Seniors, and Savers. Unlike Barack Obama, John McCain understands that in a crisis raising taxes is an especially bad idea."

The details, per Reuters' Steve Holland: "McCain will propose that seniors pay a maximum tax rate of 10 percent on money they withdraw from IRAs and 401(k) retirement plans in 2009 and 2010, instead of paying the current higher tax rate."

"[Doug] Holtz-Eakin said McCain will also propose relief for Americans who are 'aiming toward retirement' and were counting on investment income to send their children to college or pay the mortgage. Internal Revenue Service rules say Americans can only deduct $3,000 in stock losses in any given year. McCain would expand that deduction to $15,000 a year for the tax years 2008 and 2009."

"We've got help at all levels of society, not just at one," former mayor Rudy Giuliani, R-N.Y., told ABC's Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" Tuesday.

As for the shift in campaign tone: "They have great disagreements -- a lot of respect for each other -- but real disagreements," Giuliani said. "My advice to him is that he just has to get his message out."

The biggest thing going in McCain's favor is also his biggest enemy: time. There's not enough of it left to force a major shift in the race -- but there's just enough of it to cram in another storyline or two. And that demands more than one candidate.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

October 14, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Clinton, Hillary, Giuliani, Rudy, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (75)

The Note: Palin a Hit, and McCain Bats Next

September 04, 2008 9:16 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has gotten the scrambled race he wanted when he turned to Gov. Sarah Palin. So, this is his party now -- what does he do with it?

McCain’s convention gets to be about McCain again (or maybe for the first time), as one of the strangest political gatherings in memory comes to a close Thursday in St. Paul with Cindy and John as your highlights.

McCain’s teammate in this endeavor capped a weeklong journey from obscurity -- across Quayle Quarry and Eagleton Pass and back (no wonder Trig’s hair was out of place) -- with a powerful speech that keeps her in the image game.

To wear out some imagery, the hockey mom knows how to lace up the skates -- and can deliver a check into the boards, lipstick intact.

The speech wasn’t soaring or specific, but it didn’t have to be. It wasn’t perfect or polished, but neither is she (and that’s the point).

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

We stayed earthbound with Sarah Palin. Yet, a beleaguered party has found its inspiration -- a person who makes Republicans proud to call themselves Republicans again, even if she’s someone that the “elite media” (more unpopular at the RNC than Harry Reid?) doesn’t quite know what to do with. (That applies maybe even to those who have yet to learn the perils of the hot mic.)

“Ms. Palin’s appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job, as she launched slashing attacks on Mr. Obama’s claims of experience,” Elisabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper write in The New York Times.

“Palin pitched herself as the product of small-town America and laced her address with sarcastic digs at Sen. Obama. She said it is his experience, not hers, that is lacking, and she embraced the role of leading the attack against the Democratic ticket,” Michael D. Shear writes in The Washington Post. “Palin focused on almost every tactical misstep Obama's campaign has made, painting a caricature of the Democrat as an out-of-touch elitist and a lightweight celebrity with no sense of what matters to average Americans.”

Even Sen. Joe Biden was impressed -- well, sort of.

“She had a great night. I thought she had a very skillfully written, and very skillfully delivered speech,” Biden, D-Del., told ABC’s Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” Thursday. “I was impressed by the speech, but I was also impressed by what I didn’t hear spoken. ... They were good, funny lines -- I’m glad they weren’t about me.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 4, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Hillary, Giuliani, Rudy, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Romney, Mitt, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (206)

The Note: Palin Caught in Image War

September 03, 2008 9:08 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Wednesday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

The war over Gov. Sarah Palin’s image is on. (And Team McCain can only hope that it’s not already lost.)

What the McCain campaign realizes is that there are two Republican National Conventions now underway -- one in St. Paul, and one back home.

In the first, inside the hall, they feel good about being Republicans again. The party’s stars are cycling through (where was this Fred Thompson last year?), the nominee has delegates’ (and -- thanks, Joe Lieberman -- one big Democrat’s) blessing, and there’s this new young partner who’s got everyone buzzing.

But -- as clear as that giant, high-definition American flag rippling behind the podium -- none of that may matter over in that other convention that’s playing out in the press reports that seep into American homes.

Certainly not if the running mate doesn’t impress Wednesday (and probably not if the McCain-Palin operation can’t control the media firestorm before she takes the stage).

The broad issue this Wednesday: The campaign is perilously close to losing control of Palin’s image -- and thus the stakes are raised for a speech that was going to be the most closely watched of the convention anyway.

“Core conservatives are smitten with the 44-year-old governor, who opposes abortion in all cases, including rape and incest. And millions of dollars in donations have poured in,” Peter Wallsten and Doyle McManus write in the Los Angeles Times “But Republican strategists don't know how she will play among moderate swing voters, including blue-collar Democrats, who have been moving toward Barack Obama but might like Palin's middle-class roots.”

Said former Bush adviser Dan Bartlett: “There's no middle ground on this for John McCain. . . . She is either going to be a wild success or a spectacular failure.”

“It's going to be a wild ride,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., tells USA Today.

Here comes the pushback: Team McCain plays the gender card and the media-bias card with a full-on offensive -- press conferences, surrogate TV and radio appearances (designed to demand fair treatment for Palin and her family), plus a new ad:

“The McCain campaign will launch a television ad directly comparing Governor Palin’s executive experience as a governor who oversees 24,000 state employees, 14 statewide cabinet agencies and a 10 billion dollar budget to Barack Obama’s experience as a one-term junior Senator from Illinois,” a campaign aide tells The Note.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 3, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Thompson, Fred, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (154)

The Note: New Questions Dog McCain-Palin Ticket

September 02, 2008 9:16 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Tuesday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

What did John McCain know, and when did he know it?

We will get a full Republican National Convention back, starting Tuesday. (Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Sen. Fred Thompson help get us from telethon to television -- and President Bush will get his address via satellite, for better and worse, while Rudy Giuliani gets bumped to another night.)

But even if we didn’t get back on track, just think of what we’ve been through together already. A storm blew through St. Paul, Monday -- and there was a hurricane you may have heard about, too.

And behind the news about Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter (biology as pushback?) is a pregnant series of questions about Sen. John McCain: Did he know, really and fully, what he was getting into? Does his campaign regret the choice, even a little bit? What does all of this say about his judgment?

(How many more stories before Palin = “Northern Exposure,” and how long a trip is it from there to Tom Eagleton/Harriet Miers territory?)

(And while we’re waiting for those answers -- Sen. Barack Obama will be George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive headliner Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”)

It was a good political day to dump Palin information, as Gustav wasn’t quite dumping its wrath on the Gulf Coast. But this starts to add up:

“Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years, in the 1990s, of the Alaska Independence Party, which has, at times, sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken driving charge,” Elisabeth Bumiller writes in The New York Times.

“We are going to flush the toilet,” new McCain-Palin aide Tucker Eskew (yes, THE Tucker Eskew) tells the Times.

Things Team McCain may have wanted done, say, last week: “Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background,” Bumiller reports. “A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice presidential choice.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 2, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Thompson, Fred, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (149)

The Note: VP Guessing Game Keeps GOP in Headlines

August 29, 2008 10:11 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note:

DENVER --

Now that we know Sen. Barack Obama is going to fight for this thing, we’re about to see why he’ll need to.

No rest for the weary leaving Denver for St. Paul: It was Obama’s night on Thursday, but as the confetti wafts down the mountain, Friday is Sen. John McCain’s day -- since he’ll have someone to share it with, at last.

The birthday boy puts his veep out at a noontime ET joint rally in Dayton, Ohio -- and away we go all over again (if the GOP can buy any luck with the weather).

And the process-of-elimination/obfuscation game resumes in full force: Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., called it a “fair assumption” that he wasn’t it, since he isn’t going to Dayton on Friday: “It was an honor to be considered,” he told a local radio station.

He got the formal call from McCain Friday morning -- told he was not going to be the selection, per ABC’s Jan Crawford Greenburg.

Fox News’ Carl Cameron reports that former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., is in Boston, Friday and won’t be in Dayton -- and isn’t the pick. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos confirms that Romney is not in Ohio on Friday -- and a source tells Jan Crawford Greenburg that Romney hasn’t been chosen.

No Huckster, either: “There are reports that I’m on my way to Dayton tonight. Not true,” former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., wrote late Thursday in a message to supporters. “Wasn’t invited to be there, and any reports that I’m going to be there are a big surprise to me. I have never been contacted by the McCain campaign at any point about the VP slot.”

And a plane from Alaska had the overnight/early morning buzz on Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska; Karl Rove tells Fox News that it “smells like” it’s her.

But ABC’s Kate McCarthy reports that, per Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow, Palin is at home in Wasilla, Alaska, on Friday, with plans to attend the Alaska State Fair -- and won’t be in Dayton, either.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

August 29, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (161)

The Note: Biden, Bayh See Stocks Rise for Veep

August 18, 2008 8:30 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Monday's Note: All he needs is experience . . . that reinforces his message of change . . . while bringing geographic/ethnic/ideological diversity . . . and fluidity at world affairs . . . without upsetting Hillary Clinton supporters . . . or the liberal left . . . in the package of someone who’s ready to be president . . . who won’t make it harder to hope and dream . . . or overshadow the man at the top of the ticket . . . or say something dumb . . . or be too boring to be relevant.

(Still wondering why it’s taken him so long to choose?)

It’s decision time for a back-from-vacation Sen. Barack Obama -- and yes, our cell phones are charged and ready to receive any important communications.

(DQMOT -- but the smart money puts the pick in the latter part of the week -- when Obama’s schedule is wide open.)

(And have recent events changed the criteria? How many contenders are in Georgia by invitation right now?)

One thing the Obama campaign has done right: We are now so conditioned to think it won’t be Hillary Clinton that the why-isn’t-it-her storyline won’t have a long shelf life. (And if it is Hillary -- oh boy.)

One thing the campaign hasn’t proven it’s done right: We are now so close to the start of the convention that a the pick takes on more importance and is guaranteed more quick, harsh scrutiny -- which will mean a welcome-to-the-big-leagues couple of news cycles for Obama’s No. 2.

It’s an uneasy time for Democrats -- winning in the polls, but not by enough; behind the standard-bearer, but still dealing with Clinton drama; excited about the ticket, but not sure yet what that ticket will look like.

“Think of the choice Sen. Obama has to make about his running mate as if it's a horserace of contenders running through his head his heart and his gut,” ABC’s Jake Tapper reported on “Good Morning America” Monday -- with Tim Kaine surging early and Joe Biden coming on strong.

And don’t forget a dark horse: “There's talk of Hillary Clinton and former senator Sam Nunn,” Tapper reports.

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos tags Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., who’s in Georgia on Monday at the request of the Georgian leader, as the favorite: “I think he probably is [the favorite] right now -- which means he’s not going to get it.” And regarding Clinton: “If you gave me 50-1, I’d take it.”

On timing: “A person familiar with the campaign's planning noted that Obama's schedule at the end of this week is open, but said the announcement could come ‘as late as the weekend,’ ” Ben Smith and Glenn Thrush write for Politico. “As a candidate whose currency has been his personal story, in choosing his running mate, Obama will also be choosing a narrative.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto and Amanda Temple contributed to this report.

August 18, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Hillary, Giuliani, Rudy, Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred, Veepstakes | Permalink | User Comments (23)

The Note: Obama Seeks Unity but Dem Drama Remains

August 15, 2008 8:29 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note: We wouldn’t have known what to do without you, really. You were with us from Iowa and New Hampshire to Pennsylvania and Indiana, at two dozen debates and inside umpteen FEC reports, through superdelegates and a supersized nomination season.

We suppose you were coming to Denver anyway, your ticket reserved by history, purchased by the media, and punched by a former president.

Now you’re coming to your biggest stage yet. Welcome, Clinton-Obama Drama -- enjoy your stay.

Maybe it was better for the Obama campaign to invite you inside, since you would have made an ugly scene outside. Surely Sen. Barack Obama can afford to be gracious, even to you, since he’ll leave Denver with the only prize that counts.

But the decision to include Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in a roll-call vote at the Democratic National Convention ensures that the nominee’s showcase event will be about something more than the nominee himself: A number approaching half of the delegates in the hall could cast a ballot for a candidate who is not Obama.

(And, before we continue: *Did Obama get what he wanted* by having his first joint appearance with Sen. John McCain focus on the topic of religion?)

(Did Republicans get the pictures they were waiting for when Obama finally took his shirt off to go bodysurfing in Hawaii Thursday?)

Three of the four convention nights could very well be dominated by Clinton storylines (arrival, then back-to-back speech nights, and the Wednesday roll call itself), with so much of the fun stuff -- not to mention the party’s lingering divisions -- playing out in the open.

Savvy and gracious gesture that soothes tensions and unites the party while giving Clinton’s supporters something productive to cheer about? Or unnecessary and dangerous capitulation that only underscores questions about whether Obama is ready to lead? (If he can’t control his own convention . . . )

(As in so much in this race, might this be for two people named Clinton to determine?)

“With Mrs. Clinton scheduled to deliver a prime-time speech in Denver, a state-by-state roll call vote increases her time in the convention spotlight,” Jeff Zeleny writes in The New York Times. “The former rivals never spoke directly about the matter, but advisers said Mr. Obama encouraged Mrs. Clinton to agree to place her name into nomination as a nod to the historic nature of her candidacy.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

August 15, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Hillary, Giuliani, Rudy, Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred, Veepstakes, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (57)

Huckabee Jokes About Gun Aimed at Obama

May 16, 2008 5:42 PM

ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Former GOP hopeful and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is back in the news this week, making a splash when he took a hit at Senator Barack Obama during the annual National Rifle Association meeting.

Huckabee made an off-color joke during his speech in Louisville, Kentucky, when a loud bang was heard off-stage.

"That was Barack Obama," Huckabee quipped, "He Just tripped off a chair. He was getting ready to speak. Somebody aimed a gun at him and he…he dove for the floor."

Watch the VIDEO HERE.

Huckabee was always quick on his feet on the campaign trail. There was the time the lights went out in the auditorium and he suggested it was a sign from God to wrap up his speech, or the time a cell phone
rang in the audience and Huckabee suggested it might be a McCain supporter calling to tell him to leave the race. But, did this one cross the line? After all, a joke about Obama's safety runs a fine line given that Obama accepted Secret Service protection quite early in the race for fear of violence against him.

The question remains, how might this effect Huckabee's chances at landing the coveted slot at the bottom of the GOP ticket? Earlier in the week, a U.S. News and World Report blog quoted a top McCain fundraiser as saying Huckabee topped the list for potential GOP vice presidential candidates. After a week of buzz pertaining to just such a possibility, did Huckabee shoot himself in the foot today in front of the NRA? Perhaps only John McCain knows.

Calls to the Huckabee camp for comment were not immediately returned.

May 16, 2008 in Giuliani, Rudy, Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (585)