GOP Giddy After Debate

Posted Nov 7, 2007 by By Krista Klaus

Updated Nov 7, 2007 at 05:11 PM

State Republican party leaders couldn’t contain their enthusiasm about the weekend’s Presidency IV convention and debate in Orlando.

    “I couldn’t be more proud of this result,” said Gov. Charlie Crist after the debate. “What’s happening right here today is an example of the good wisdom of putting Florida in the forefront of choosing the next leader of the free world.”

    Crist praised state lawmakers for moving up the Florida primary election to Jan. 29, saying that Florida is getting the national attention it deserves as a result.

    “All roads lead to Florida. I think this is the place where the next nominee will be determined, if you want to know the truth,” Crist said.

    It appears at least one candidate, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney agrees. At a rally for the party faithful on Saturday, Romney pledged to restore all of Florida’s delegates if he’s the party’s nominee in ‘08.

    “If I’m the nominee, I will make sure all 114 Florida delegates get seated at that convention,” Romney told the cheering crowd of 3,000 GOP voters.

    Rep. Connie Mack, chair of Romney’s statewide steering committee, believes he will hold true to his pledge.

    “If anyone can make that happen,” Mack said, “it’s Mitt Romney.”

 

---

Huckabee hitting The Big Time?

Posted Nov 7, 2007 by By Krista Klaus

Updated Nov 7, 2007 at 05:10 PM

Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee sat through the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s Republican debate, barely uttering a word.

    The cash-challenged governor from Arkansas listened patiently as Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Fred Thompson traded jabs about who was the party’s true Republican.

    Huckabee wasn’t in on the fracas, and he liked it that way.

    “I’m not interested in fighting these guys,” he told the crowd of more than 4,000 Florida Republicans at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. “What I’m interested in is fighting for the American people.”

    Huckabee nabbed the moniker “dark horse candidate” over the weekend. Even though polls conducted by major media outlets put Huckabee in a distant fifth, polls of socially conservative voters are beginning to place him at the top of the pack.

    After the debate, I asked him what he thinks of the fact that pundits are calling him the guy to watch in the weeks ahead.

    “They’re smart people,” Huckabee said.

    “They’re good people when they say that.”

---

Fred Falters In Florida

Posted Nov 7, 2007 by By Krista Klaus

Updated Nov 7, 2007 at 05:09 PM

Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson’s been the glamorous candidate of the Republican pack so far. With a Hollywood resume and the charming drawl of a southern gentleman, the national media flirted with his campaign even before any official announcement of his candidacy.

    Thompson may be the national media’s favorite, but when he took to the Florida political stage, the famous actor looked like he had a walk-on role.

    Thompson paid $100,000 to address state Republicans at their Presidency IV convention in Orlando. His opponents Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney outlined their vision for the White House. After drawing laughs about his wife being a better fit for First Lady than Bill Clinton, Thompson struck a few basic conservative chords and left the stage.

  The former Law and Order star spoke for barely five minutes, leaving the crowd wondering if he was just warming up or planning to leave them cold.  It was, in fact, a deep freeze.

---