The media is obsessed with the presumed angst among Republicans who are still looking for a candidate to support. When you include the coy and delusional, the Republican field currently has a dozen or so candidates. The wide-range of announced candidates coupled with excitement about possible candidates like Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson gives Republicans an edge over the Democrats in 2008.
The top-tier candidates on the Democratic side - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - don’t offer much diversity in political debate. The Senators have 2006 ACU ratings of 8, 8, and 9, respectively. As expected, the left’s shallow attempt at diversity is based on skin color and which bathroom the candidate uses.
A recent ccAdvertising survey of households in the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, California, Nevada and South Carolina showed that more than 25% of those who intend to vote in the Democratic caucus or primary have no preference among the candidates. Mr. No Preference was a close second to Mrs. Clinton, who received 30% of the vote.
Despite the clear dissatisfaction on the Democrats’ side, the media remains focused on Republicans’ nominee. Michael Finnegan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “In varying degrees, Giuliani, McCain and Romney have strayed from ideological purity, leaving many conservatives unenthusiastic about the trio of early front-runners.” Chris Matthews declared that there was “a gap out there politically” among the Republican candidates.
There’s also no shortage of Republicans giving sound bites to reporters who want to fill their cookie cutter copy. Steve Roberts of the Iowa Republican Party told the Associated Press, “This is the first time there is not a clear Christian conservative candidate that evangelical Christians believe can win.” Knight-Ridder’s Steven Thomma reminds us, “Maybe conservatives will allow some others two marriages, but three - as in the cases of Giuliani and Gingrich - will test the patience and priorities of many Christian conservatives.” Thomma then quotes apparent spokesman for conservative voters, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, “Three is one marriage too many to [our members].”
The Denver Post posits, “Twenty-five years ago, the conservative movement in America was in full bloom. Today, it doesn't even have a major candidate for president.”
But, do the Democrats have their ideal candidate? In addition to the poll in early primary states, several other polls show a large portion of undecided Democratic voters. Interestingly, the March 27 FoxNews/Opinion Dynamics poll shows that undecided Democratic voters have increased over the last several months while undecided Republican voters have decreased over the same time period. The bad news for Democrats is that their pool of candidates is tapped out.
Democrats’ big idea is Draft Gore!, complete with the catchy theme song, “Run Al Run.” The song begins “Run, Al, Run. How can you lose when you’ve already won? Way back before all the damage was done. Now you’re the number one favorite son, so run, Al, run.” For me, this was the day the music died. The left has most of the rock stars and this is the best they could come up with? The once-hip Rolling Stone magazine weighed in on Gore, “If the Democrats were going to sit down and construct the perfect candidate for 2008, they'd be hard-pressed to improve on Gore.” Rolling Stone also boasted that Gore is now a “Hollywood celebrity.”
We’ll know that the Democrats are finished once Gore joins the race. As Human Events legal affairs correspondent Ann Coulter wrote, “Gore always comes out swinging just as an issue is about to go south. He’s the stereotypical white guy always clapping on the wrong beat…This guy is always leaping into the mosh pit at the precise moment the crowd parts.”
By contrast, Republicans’ are urging bona fide Hollywood celebrity and former Senator Fred Thompson to join the presidential race. Unlike Gore, Thompson could carry their home state of Tennessee. To be fair, Gore could probably carry the place he actually grew up, Washington, DC.
Also waiting stage right is former Speaker Newt Gingrich. Thompson and Gingrich are political heavyweights that add even more cache to an already diverse pool of Republican candidates. Democrats’ increasing vote of no preference reflects dissatisfaction with their likely candidates. Unfortunately for Democrats, there are no stars waiting in the wings. Even their favorite Republican, Senator John McCain’s star is fading fast.
