From MSNBC’s First Read:

In his interview on CNBC’s Kudlow & Company (which will air later this afternoon), Mitt Romney had some sharp words for Sen. Larry Craig, who had endorsed the former Massachusetts governor’s presidential campaign and was his Idaho chairman. “Once again, we’ve found people in Washington have not lived up to the level of respect and dignity that we would expect for somebody that gets elected to a position of high influence. Very disappointing. He’s no longer associated with my campaign, as you can imagine… I’m sorry to see that he has fallen short.”

And Romney also included this jab at Bill Clinton as he continued to talk about Craig: “I think it reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton. I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we’ll just forgive and forget. And the truth of the matter is, the most important thing we expect from elected–an elected official is a level of dignity and character that we can point to for our kids and our grandkids, and say, `Hey, someday I hope you grow up and you’re someone like that person.’ And we’ve seen disappointment in the White House, we’ve seen it in the Senate, we’ve seen it in Congress. And frankly, it’s disgusting.”

Senator Craig will hold a press conference at 4:30pm Eastern to discuss the arrest in Minnesota.

(Hat tip to TRF reader AW.)

Mitt Romney | 7 Comments »

Via Ryan Sager — Ben Smith reports on Rudy Giuliani’s most recent ad buys:

A campaign staffer, in touch with media buyers, e-mails that Rudy requested third- and fourth-quarter television rates in Illinois, Georgia, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, while booking relatively small-scale radio buys (about $24,000 for a week in Iowa; $13,000 in South Carolina; and $10,000 in New Hampshire.)

Smith, Sager, and yours truly all note what IL, GA, OK, and WV have in common: February 5 primaries (well, West Virginia has a strange primary, but 2/5 still plays a key role in its calendar). More evidence of the contrast in strategies between Giuliani and Mitt Romney.

Rudy Giuliani | No Comments »

Now, considering this is the party of David Vitter and Mark Foley, I’m not sure it’s odd at all — par for the course, really. But Senator Brownback is perplexed nonetheless. ThinkProgress has the video and the transcript:

http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/08/BrownbackCraig.320.240.flv  

QUESTION: Well, let me also ask you then about the scandal of today, at least, that came down last night involving Senator Larry Craig. He stepped down from his role in the Romney presidential campaign.

How big of a setback do you believe this is — Not only for Mr. Craig, but also, again, for the GOP?

BROWNBACK: [...] It is not good. There is a guilty plea involved in this. But I think we ought to look and see what the facts actually are and then build and move forward off of that.[...]

Larry’s a colleague. He is somebody that I know. I want to hear what he has to say. I want to read, if we can, more in depth on the police report and what the police say actually took place at this. I want to know: Why did he plead guilty if he did not feel like this was actually what took place; that there was lewd conduct that took place?

I want to hear the actual settings — and I think most Americans probably do — of this. This seems like a very odd thing that takes place. And so what is actually going on here?

Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback | 2 Comments »

Conservative bloggers associated with the “Save the Debate” petition seem to be unconvinced that Republican candidates have really grasped the significance of the YouTube debate. George Ajjan, writing in New Jersey’s Herald News, takes Republicans to task for their failure to understand basic aspects of the political internet:

The comments of those skeptical about the YouTube debates sadly exemplify many of the traditional and stereotypical shortcomings of Republicans. The GOP has got to shatter the image of country-club elitism that plagues the party. Giuliani’s campaign prioritizing fundraising over a one-day commitment to appear before millions of viewers and answer tough questions directly from the electorate is deplorable and plays right into that regrettable typecast….

As far as YouTube itself goes, the issue is not that national Republicans don’t want to use new technologies. Both Giuliani and Romney have invested heavily in their online efforts and have specifically touted their embrace of YouTube as a campaigning medium. But their behavior seems to indicate the belief that the internet is a switch they can turn on and off, depending upon whether they’re in the mood to communicate. But the internet is always “on,” although it’s not always “on your terms.”

Until our party truly grasps that, we will continue to alienate voters and activists, especially young people for whom the internet is not “new,” but an integral part of their political upbringing.

The Republicans don’t have a technology problem, per se. They have an arrogance problem, and it’s spilling over into their online outreach efforts. Coming at a time when polls show young voters abandoning the GOP en masse, this bodes ill for the elephants.

Presidential Debates | 5 Comments »

…reports Real Clear Politics.

Meanwhile, the right blogosphere — which has shown a considerable amount of sympathy for the actor/lobbyist’s candidacy — continues to discuss whether Thompson can recover from his campaign’s early chaos. Scott Rasmussen thinks so:

More recently, the same reporters have picked up on a story line that Fred Thompson’s delay in entering the race has been a mistake. However, the polls show Thompson remains more of a threat to Giuliani’s lead that Romney. His support is down a bit from its peak, but he’s still showing a lot of potential. As Rasmussen Reports has noted many times in recent months, that may change when Thompson does enter the race for real. But, it may not.

Rasmussen compares the early part of the race to “spring training.” Though when your team is having a terrible spring training, you tend to worry anyway. Redstate seems a little uneasy:

The delay doesn’t bothers [sic] me. What bothers me is the constant shifting of the date, which makes the campaign look second-rate at best.

Marc Ambinder has more analysis of the Thompson campaign shakeup.

Fred Thompson | No Comments »

Check out this image from YouTube that shows a video of “Sen. Larry Craig” by the user, GovMittRomney.

Try watching it, oh wait, you can’t. This is the message that you get when trying to click from that screen:

This is a private video. If you have been sent this video, please make sure you accept the sender’s friend request.

It still shows up in a search of Romney’s videos, but the video does not load.

In a February 8, 2007 press release, Senator Craig was named one of Romney’s Co-Senate liaisons.

Boston, MA - Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced that U.S. Senators Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Larry Craig (R-ID) will serve as Co-Senate Liaisons for the Romney for President Exploratory Committee. As Liaisons, they will lead Governor Romney’s outreach efforts to their fellow Senators.

So my question is, did Mitt Romney scrub Senator Larry Craig off his YouTube?

Updated 8/27/07 at 5:05pm: An e-mailer writes that, according to the Romney camp, CNN just reported Senator Craig resigned his post with the Romney campaign.

Updated 8/27/07 at 5:10pm: CNN’s Political Ticker:

The Romney campaign has also pulled a video of Craig from its YouTube channel, according to the online Web site The Politico.

The video, a clip of Craig praising Romney for his “strong family values,” was changed to a “private” video shortly after the news surfaced of the arrest, The Politico reports.

That was quick.

Updated 8/27/07 at 7:38pm: MyDD’s Todd Beeton says, “looky what we have here.” (Live Leak rescued the video Romney doesn’t want you to see.)

Updated 8/27/07 at 8:30pm by David D.: Craig has now resigned from the Romney campaign, making the scrubbing of the site… OK?

Mitt Romney | 10 Comments »

Does Mike Huckabee have a path to the nomination? Sure, and it runs through South Carolina, as the New York Observer’s Steve Kornacki explains:

Suddenly, it’s not so much of a stretch to paint a scenario in which Huckabee contends seriously for the G.O.P. nod. His second place showing in the Iowa straw poll earlier this month certified him as the darkhorse to watch there – and may have marginalized Sam Brownback, Huckabee’s chief rival for the hearts of that state’s Christian conservatives. Romney is now the favorite in Iowa, but a strong Huckabee showing there on caucus day could give him the “Big Mo” that the state is famous for producing. Huckabee seems like such a natural fit for South Carolina – and the other candidates are such awkward fits – that he’d probably be the front-runner there if he could get an Iowa bounce. So a scenario can be painted in which Huckabee is the media’s “winner” in two of the first three states.

My caveats:

1) This still does not mean that Huckabee is a frontrunner. He doesn’t have a frontrunner’s money, organization, name recognition, or institutional connections. He may improve in all of these areas as the months go by, but his strategy essentially relies on vaulting up from nowhere at the very last moment.

2) Fred Thompson, despite his many problems, is still the man most likely to spoil the party for Rudy and Romney.

If Thompson can’t get his act together after Labor Day, and Huckabee can figure out how to raise money and organize a serious campaign, these things may change. Until then, the Huckster is little more than a nice story in the middle of a long, dull summer.

UPDATE: To illustrate my point, the latest daily tracking poll from Rasmussen (via Race42008):

Giuliani – 24%
Thompson – 23%
Romney – 13%
McCain – 12%
Huckabee – 5%

Huckabee may have escaped the bottom tier, but he’s nowhere near the top tier.

Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee | 3 Comments »

(Editor’s note: This is satire, people. Stop e-mailing me. –Matt Ortega)

Des Moines (BP): Campaigning in Iowa, Presidential candidate Mitt Romney reacted to the news of Alberto Gonzales’ resignation from the office of Attorney General of the United States by asking the President to “double” him.

“I was happy to have Gonzales at Justice. Some people have said we ought to fire Gonzales. My view is we ought to double Gonzales,” remarked the Presidential hopeful, reminiscent of his earlier call to double the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

When asked if this stance represented a shift in Romney’s already-shifting views on stem cell research and human cloning, he said, “No, not at all… I think there are ways you can double the Attorney General without destroying human life… I mean, sure, I have supported stem cell research in the past, but not now unless I’m talking to groups who appear to support it as well. I think that’s a perfectly consistent position.”

Romney was unclear on the science of “doubling” the Attorney General, currently an impossible task. Gonzales, who announced his resignation at a press conference today, does not have a twin brother, nor has he provided researchers a lock of hair or a saliva swab from inside his cheek. In addition, it appears to be unconstitutional to have two Attorney Generals serving at the same time.

Pundits from across the political spectrum, from David Broder to Bill Kristol, praised Romney’s counter-intutitive statements and his penchant for bold solutions to petty partisan squabbles. Expanding on his remarks, Romney, the former governor of Masssachusetts, also called for the doubling of subprime mortgages for the unemployed, the number of soldiers in Iraq, and Michael Vick.

Mitt Romney | 4 Comments »

From Chris Cillizza:

Linda Rozett, the communications director for former Sen. Fred Thompson’s (R-Tenn.) presidential bid, has left the campaign, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Fix.

“It is my duty to let you know that Linda Rozett is no longer with our committee,” wrote campaign manager Bill Lacy….

Rozett’s departure follows that of press secretary Burson Snyder last week.

Thompson’s communications strategy has been fairly inept as of late, so the shake-up isn’t totally surprising. But staff chaos is not the kind of news you want to be making in the days before your big announcement.

Fred Thompson | No Comments »

Last year Republicans were hoping to use immigration as an issue to rally the base and drive a wedge through the Democratic party. Instead, they wedged themselves, opening up a massive self-inflicted wound. Now that wound threatens to cripple the GOP’s presidential election hopes.

Take, for instance, Florida. While the GOP’s congressional wing ramped up the nativist demagoguery, Karl Rove and the Bush political team recognized the danger this presented to a critical flank of the national Republican position: Florida. Hoping to shore up that flank, they overcame the vehement opposition of conservative activists to install Florida senator Mel Martinez at the head of the Republican National Committee. But that move wasn’t enough to counter months of racist scaremongering, one effect of which has been to destroy the GOP candidate most identified with comprehensive immigration reform.

Now, writes William Gibson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, as McCain acknowledges having received death threats over his immigration position, Martinez, frustrated over his inability to get Republicans to address the immigration issue honestly, is avoiding reporters’ calls. Gibson says Martinez “appears to be distancing himself from the issue” — an understandable reaction, yet while Martinez goes into turtle mode, the GOP position in Florida, dependent as it is on Hispanic votes, erodes further:

“Politics is about perceptions, and indeed we’ve got a perception hurdle to overcome here,” acknowledged Al Cardenas, a Cuban-American and former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

Cardenas is putting it mildly. As the Republican candidates treat Hispanics like lepers — snubbing a major Hispanic leadership conference in Florida, turning their backs on birthright citizenship, abandoning whatever leadership they might once have shown — polls show Florida Hispanics abandoning the GOP, while the state as a whole looks increasingly winnable for Democrats. . This isn’t about the immigration issue alone — like most diverse constituencies, Hispanics are concerned about a range of issues, the Iraq war prominent among them. Yet when it comes to campaigning for Hispanic votes in Florida, Republican candidates seem to have little to offer beyond the reflexive pander to hardline Miami Cuban leaders. As a formula for winning the Sunshine State, and the Electoral College, that seems a little dated.

Florida | No Comments »