Originally posted by: DonVito
Originally posted by: ProfJohn
You may be right, but it will be very hard to tell how things shake out if it is McCain and Giuliani fighting it out, who does the right take?
Newt is VERY popular on the right, but he has weaknesses and would be better for his presence in the race as he will help to define issues, I could see him in a cabinet position. No one can deny his ability as a speaker and he ability to "frame" issues.
Mitt Romney seems to pop up a lot in conservative circles as well, could be a good candidate, governor, will place the North East into play, not sure if he is popular enough to win Mass though... Imagine a Giuliani/Romney ticket, would give the Dems huge fits having to defend New York and Mass... hmmmm need to send an e-mail to uncle Karl
They'd take McCain and not be 100% happy about it. I still think the real candidate will be someone we may not yet have thought of. Romney is certainly a possibility, but I still wouldn't rule out someone much more conservative (a la Jeb Bush or Bill Frist). At this moment my sense is that a Frist-type candidate would struggle against a moderate Democrat, but the Republicans have shown they can get even the most radical candidates elected. McCain is more conservative than most people really understand, but the Republicans seem to want candidates who wear their heart on their sleeve when it comes to "family values," not someone with a sense of irony like McCain.
Contrary to your logic, I don't know that a Guiliani/Romney ticket would work well. They would still DEFINITELY lose New York (which would elect Mark Foley, running as a Democrat, for President before it would vote for a Republican) and likely Massachusetts as well, and all of a sudden the Southern states wouldn't seem so obviously winnable, particularly if the Democratic ticket included a Southerner.