PETITION ON IRAQ FUNDING BILL

John McCain’s campaign website has launched a petition regarding the actions of the U.S. Senate on the Iraq funding bill setting a withdrawal date. If you believe that setting a date will have dire consequences, sign the petition to send a message to Reid and Pelosi.

MCCAIN HAS SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN TRIP TO NH

Last weekend McCain’s Straight talk Express made a trip to NH. All signs point to a very successful trip including Milford’s Saturday morning event at the end of a snow storm. More details of some of the Senator’s stops can be found on the McCain website and Patrick Hynes’ blog.

I had the pleasure of attending the house party in Bow on Saturday night. It was great to personally meet the Senator again. My last meeting with him was in 2000. My initial reaction was very positive as the Senator looked great. Much better than some of his TV appearances.

McCain personally met with everyone present and introduced his wife. He was very personable and in my case he somehow came around to me a second time and remembered that he had already said hi. So he was paying attention. After meeting everyone the Senator made a brief statement with the war, homeland security and illegal immigration highlighted. He also pointed out his experience and that he “did not need any on-the-job training”. After his talk he took questions on the war, education and veterans issues. I asked the education question pointing out that in 2000 McCain stated that good teachers needed to be paid better, but that we also needed to recognize that some teachers needed to make a career change. In 2000 he had also stated that we needed to raise the bar to better challenge our students and that we couldn’t keep lowering the bar to make everyone feel good. I asked the Senator if he still felt the same way. Not only did he agree with those statements from back in 2000 but stated it is even more important today pointing out that many technology executives are telling him that we only have a ten to fifteen year advantage over India and China in some technologies.

Overall, I continue to be impressed with his overall experience and leadership and his willingness to search for common ground to bring people together. And while I don’t always agree with every position McCain takes, I still believe he is the man this country needs at this time. I urge everyone to get out and meet the Senator as I am sure you will walk away with a better understanding of his candidacy.

STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS IS BACK

The race has begun and John McCain's campaign is back. His new Straight Talk Express is in action and he is being greeted with enthusiastic crowds. This weekend, McCain is in New Hampshire with town hall meetings in Milford and Lebanon on Saturday, and Exeter on Sunday. I encourage you to attend one of these sessions. I know you will walk away knowing that this man is the one.

Weather permitting; I will be attending a house gathering for McCain this weekend. I am enthusiastic to meet him again and will share my thoughts with you after the visit.

Check out the action and John’s weekend plans at the STE website.

MCCAIN STRONG IN NEW POLL

The American Research Group published a new poll on the presidential race. While I will be the first to agree that it is too early for polls to tell you a lot, they are still of interest. However, this morning on Meet The Press they quoted a poll that showed 73% of the electorate is ‘actively’ watching the presidential primary process. I was really surprised by that so maybe this year early polls may be more important than in the past.

In any case, Senator McCain continues to be in a strong position. On a national level, the poll shows Giuliani at 34% and McCain at 30% among republican contenders. This is within the 4% margin of error and is a bit closer than other polls that have been published recently. But this poll also looked at some important primary states and shows McCain ahead in NH, FL, MI and SC, with Giuliani in second place.

McCain is taking heat with his support of the Iraq war so anything can happen depending on what happens on the ground there. But McCain’s experience and record and some early wins in these primaries would go a long way toward making him the republican nominee.

PICKERING SUPPORTS MCCAIN AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF

ABC News online had an excellent op-ed piece by Rep. Chip Pickering of Mississippi on why John McCain should be the next commander in chief. Pickering, a strong conservative, supports McCain’s election efforts. The article was an excellent summary of why McCain should be our next President, and not just to lead our military.

Most people agree with McCain’s qualifications to be commander in chief. Pickering’s article covered more than just John’s military qualifications. One example of interest that the article points out was that it was McCain’s ability to broker the “Gang of 14” compromise, something that a lot of conservatives criticize John on, that allowed Congress to start approving federal district and appeals court nominations. Chip correctly pointed out that this compromise “paved the way for the approval of John Roberts and Sam Alito to the Supreme Court” and that “without McCain's leadership in the Senate, we could easily have seen the Democrats filibuster these two nominees and might not have their conservative intellect and strict constructionism on the court today.” This is a great reason why people need to go beyond a specific action (Gang of 14 compromise) and take a broader view of why a good leader will compromise to achieve a broader objective.

I recommend this op-ed piece as an excellent summary on why conservatives should support McCain’s candidacy for the republican nomination in 2008.

NEW UNH POLL

A recent University of New Hampshire poll for WMUR-TV in Manchester leads with the fact that Giuliani's net favorability rating was 56 percent versus McCain’s 32 percent. Romney was in third at 26 percent. This somewhat surprised me given earlier polls that showed McCain and Giuliani much closer. Then I noticed the followup statement that said for likely primary voters McCain and Giuliani were tied at about 27 percent, followed by Romney at 13 percent and Gingrich at 9 percent.

The article justifies the lead with the favorability factor in that this far in advance of an election the professionals look at that versus who the person would likely vote for. That may be the case in the past but Giuliani has not even declared. When he does, his more liberal social views would likely impact his ability to capture conservative republican primary voters.

How Conservative a Republican Nominee?

It is interesting to see this early in the primary process how critical the issue of a candidate’s conservatism will factor into the eventual Republican nominee. We know from history that the Republican nominee has to be a conservative. But have times changed as to the degree of conservativeness needed to win the nomination?

By most polls, the top three Republican hopefuls are John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. A recent posting on the Race 4 2008 site is an example of these three candidates as the top three contenders, with Newt following in fourth place. So how conservative are the top three candidates?

McCain continues to be hit by the far right about his failure to strictly adhere to true conservative values. Giuliani may be a fiscal conservative but clearly his social values have to be called moderate at best. Clearly anyone would have to admit McCain is more conservative than Rudy. Then there is Mitt. Mitt continues to position himself as the true conservative but continues to get caught between his rhetoric and record. Whether that is the issue of bi-lingual education, or his tendency to flip-flop on issues that matter to conservatives.

Senator McCain’s primary criticism has been that he is not a true conservative. I for one believe he is and that his willingness to solve problems by reaching across the aisle should not be interpreted as his non-belief in conservative values. Rather, his willingness to compromise should be viewed as his political strength in the upcoming election. It is clear to me that the polls show that the people want someone who can solve problems and unite the country. Why else would Giuliani be running so high among the Republican candidates? McCain is the one candidate that has demonstrated his consistent conservative beliefs while being able to reach across the aisle and solve problems.