Today’s Reading List – October 26, 2007
Between simple "news fatigue" from last weekend to the overwhelming news of the fires…
. . . things are a little thin today. However . . .
…speaking of the fires…
Pray for Matt Romney and family.
Meanwhile in the "news"…
Yada, yada, yada – Oh, how I would love to read something original on this subject, just once.
This isn't even a story, it's just an excuse to talk about religion again.
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney embraced his association with Christian conservative Bob Jones III Thursday despite Jones' sharp criticism of the Mormon faith central to Romney's life.
Oh, get over it!
In Iowa…
The reliable David Yepsen, speaks of "unspoken bias." Yepsen seems to be discovering the various codes that are going on, such as "flip-flop code" that we alluded to yesterday. And he points out the obvious:
Everyone tiptoes around all of this. Whispered comments among Republicans about Mormons most likely benefit candidates like Baptist Mike Huckabee, who is doing well at courting GOP social conservatives.
Well, there is a Huckabee boomlet going on. To which my initial response is, "Does anyone remember the Thompson boomlet?" But sarcasm aside, and recalling my formal education as a chemist, there is an important phrase in Chemistry – "Like dissolves like." People are going to be attracted to a candidate that is "like" them. The real question, is at what point does that attraction become bias and/or bigotry?
In this particular instance, I would argue that crossing the line would come if Romney is nominated, but people refuse to vote for him because…, or if the boomlets continue unabated in the primaries as people vainly seek an "anyone but Romney because…" candidate. Of course, there will always be some.
I think we are witnessing a mass psychological acceptance dance of some sort. It takes a while to step out of the comfort zone on anything, people generally fight it. I think that is what is happening here. Only time will tell.
Lowell: Meanwhile, my co-blogger at The Hedgehog Blog, Ralph Kostant, has something interesting to say. Ralph begins with this:
[L]et us imagine how the so-called Jewish defense organizations, such as the Anti-Defamation League, would react if Mitt Romney said the following in a campaign speech:
“We’re going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth. I want all of you to pray that I can be an instrument of God.”
Read the whole thing.
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HowellUNC on 26 Oct 2007 at 6:56 am #
Giuliani Feels The Heat In California
Rudy Giuliani’s support has dropped sharply in the California Field Poll released Thursday. The former New York City mayor claimed 25 percent of the GOP voters, a whopping 10 percent drop from the same poll in August. In a virtual tie for second, Mitt Romney got 13 percent while Fred Thompson and John McCain both got 12 percent. Fourteen percent of the vote was spread among Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter.
We have seen it in Michigan, South Carolina and Florida, and now in California. As more voters compare the Republican field, at first there is an increase in those undecided. Then we see a slow and steady increase in support for Mitt Romney. Since August the percentage of California’s undecided Republican voters has risen from 15 percent to 22 percent.
It seems that the more conservative arm of the GOP is the engine behind this trend.
Among California’s moderate conservatives, Giuliani holds a 16-percentage point lead over Thompson. But among staunch conservatives, Giuliani’s lead over Romney is only 4 percentage points! Yes, things are getting hot in California, and not just from the wild fires.