Mitt Romney to Endorse McCain

NBC News is reporting that Mitt Romney will endorse John McCain. An announce is expected at 4 p.m eastern.

Romney to Suspend Campaign

Reports are that Mitt Romney is suspending his campaign. The former Massachusetts Governor is speaking at the CPAC conference where his announcement is expected to come. Romney is significantly behind John McCain in delegates and a path for victory did not seem to exist.

Not So Fast Mitt Romney

Mike Huckabee has now been projected as the winner of the West Virginia caucus. Mitt Romney had led after the first ballot but had not reached the required 50%. A second ballot was cast without Ron Paul with Mike Huckabee as the winner.

Romney Close to Winning West Virginia

Romney heads up the West Virginia polls but has not secured a win. Mitt Romney has not secured the 50% needed so another ballot will be cast. The first ballot results were: Mitt Romney 43%, Mike Huckabee 33%, John McCain 16%, and Ron Paul 10%. Ron Paul will be removed and the other three candidates will compete on the second ballot. West Virginia is a winner take all state and 18 delegates are up for grabs. The day will be long as 24 states will hold contests today.
www.race42008.com

Romney Wins Maine

Mitt Romney has won the Maine Republican caucus. The state received little attention from the candidates apart from a few appearances by Ron Paul. Romney's real challenge is to compete next week against John McCain on Super Tuesday when the majority of delegates are up for grabs.

Sunshine State Showdown

Tune in tonight as we find out the winner of the Florida Republican primary. Most years this would not be as important. But with the way the campaign season has gone, Florida might help clear up the muddled picture that is the Republican race. Rudy Giuliani's strategy of making Florida his Alamo appears to have back fired on America's mayor. Despite his time, money, and energy, the contest appears to be between Mitt Romney and John McCain. The national race appears to mirror that of Florida with the nominee being either McCain or Romney. Florida's contest is closed so McCain will have to win over Republicans and not simply rely on independent support. Each man covets what a win in Florida would give them. A win would start to solidify who the frontrunner will be. With Super Tuesday rapidly approaching, Florida's momentum could propel the winner to a huge day on February 5th. Money might become an issue, John McCain might not be able to compete against Mitt Romney's personal wealth and it could become a contest of attrition. In a few hours we will know the winner and perhaps the next Republican nominee for president.

Mitt Romney Wins Nevada

MSNBC is reporting that Mitt Romney has won the Republican caucus in Nevada. We will see if this has any affect on South Carolina. Romney may have been helped by the strong Mormon support in that part of the country. This would be the third state won by Romney which include Michigan and Wyoming. The win will add to Romney's delegate count but it remains to be seen if this will propel him to front runner status. No one candidate has been able to keep momentum and be declared the prohibitive favorite.

Mac Pulled Back

So much for John McCain's forward momentum towards the Republican nomination. After a comeback win in New Hampshire it appears as if he has been pulled back down to Earth, after a meteoric rise after a win in the Granite State. Many will now talk about how the Republican race is now once again undecided after each of the top three candidates have won the early contests. While Romney might not be considered the front runner he has stabilized his campaign with a win in Michigan many felt he had to have. Now all focus will be on South Carolina as we move state by state waiting for someone to emerge as the true number one. With these early results Giuliani's strategy may prove successful with no permanent momentum behind a single candidate.

Michigan Primary Coverage

NBC News is declaring Mitt Romney the winner of the Michigan Primary. John McCain will finish second with Mike Huckabee third.

Fox News All-Stars

The Sunday crowd covered many topics. One of the things discussed was the campaign of Barack Obama. He has risen in the polls and has found a new campaign partner in Oprah Winfrey. The group discussed what impact if any this will have on his run for his party's nomination. The round table also talked about Mitt Romney's faith speech he made recently. Some have called this his J.F.K. moment, alluding to the speech President Kennedy made about his Catholic faith. The panel notes that Romney's speech might be to Huckabee's rise, especially in Iowa, and the competition for the evangelical vote. Finally the all-stars discussed the recent issue of the CIA and the destruction of videotapes. The issue is starting to garner attention, especially by Democrats in Congress.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/huckabee_mccain_on_fox_news_su.html
Courtesy of http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

Juan Cole on Romney Speech

You know I have a problem with people like Juan Cole. For those of you not plugged into the liberal talkosphere, Cole runs the Informed Comment website. On one of his recent intellectual meanderings he touched on the speech given by Mitt Romney regarding his religion. First off I must say that as an evangelical christian, I can hardly agree with Mormonism. But beyond that I could put that aside when looking for a qualified candidate for president. It is the so called enlightened liberal intellectuals that always focus on religion. Cole like many of his ilk seem so threatened by the mere mention of God. Contrary to Cole's statements in his article our nation was founded with a higher power in mind. Our founding fathers did realize that our rights and privileges stem from this higher power. Our history is replete with this knowledge in our buildings and founding documents. Cole seems to feel as if Republicans put to much emphasis on religion and choosing their candidates. In doing so he considers Republicans a monolith that only votes one way. The truth is that the Republican party has become more big tent, especially in this election season. The truth is that many in the Republican party value a candidate with a strong moral foundation rooted in a strong faith in God. Some may call that a litmus test. I would rather test my candidate against that position, and not one who would allow the taking of innocent life and call it right to privacy. Cole asked if a secular candidate could pass through the Republican litmus test. I would ask him in light of the left-wing take over of his party, could a religious candidate pass his party's secularized litmus test?http://www.juancole.com/2007_12_01_juancole_archive.html