As I mentioned in my last post, Mike is far from out of this race, particularly if he manages to win states such as Missouri, Georgia and Alabama on Super Tuesday. He’s running hard in a variety of states to pull out a Super Tuesday surprise.
Be sure to watch the Republican debate tonight on MSNBC at 9:00 pm. This is a big deal. Mike’s performances in early debates are really what helped to make him into a viable candidate and the attacks on him by Thompson in the last one did real damage in South Carolina. Tonight marks a rare opportunity for Mike to make a public (and free) splash in Florida before their primary.
If you missed it, Duncan Hunter has endorsed Mike, which is mostly a symbolic win, unless you count the seven people that were planning on voting for Hunter in Florida. Nevertheless it reminds us that he’s not out of the race and that others are still willing to bet their reputations on him. Fox News has a good article today reminding their readers that Super Tuesday almost certainly will not lock up the Republican nomination for anyone. Mike’s long-term success, though, certainly does depend on him winning more than a few states on February 5th.
In the meantime, McCain is playing it smart and attempting to assume the role of frontrunner (in other words, he’s “dressing” the role) through a new ad campaign. And what’s Thompson doing? Carl Cameron suggests that he’s hoping to be picked as VP nominee, which explains why he’s not endorsing anyone. Hey, who wouldn’t want to share the ticket a frigid, old white guy who has a reputation for lazy campaigning?
