IMHO Neither Thompson nor Giuliani is electible as the Repub nominee...

[Blackhatjack]

Both have serious issues to overcome to obtain the rightwing conservative voting block, which is mandatory to win. The same is probably true of McCain.

That leaves Romney as the likely candidate who has announced so far. Yet he is vulnerable in so many ways as a 'flip-flopper'.

I still believe the ultimate Repub nominee has not yet announced he is running....

[Donnachaidh]

1. who are you thinking of?

Newt? Or some other DeathEater?

[bertha katzenengel]

2. I dunno... according to at least one conservative in my town, Thompson is

the one.

At least, judging by her bumper sticker:

FRED THOMPSON
makes LIBERALS wet their pants

[Blackhatjack]

5. If you could pick a Repub candidate to run against, Thompson would be a good choice...

He made a career out of lobbying Congress. Contrary to most reports, he is not an effective speaker on the stump(I have heard him speak 3 times).

His past connections were all driven by big money corporate interests, including lobbying for abortion rights.(Not gonna fly with RWingers).

He is the sought after flavor until he announces and then has to start answering questions and raising money.

Everyone knows he is running, and yet he could only raise $3 mil last quarter from his corporate backers.

I think Thompson would be easier to defeat than Mittens.

[Mend]

12. until they see a picture of his granddaughter, um wife....no silicone left in

the Valley after they got done with her rack of lamb.

[Perky]

3. Obviously it is Alan Keyes

[Blackhatjack]

4. I think the political landscape is going to shift even more toward Dems and...

... the impending doom and desperation will drive potential Repub candidates into the process that Republicans are not even considering at the moment.

I believe moderate Repubs will have a chance to grab the nomination.

To answer your question, I don't know right now. But one name that could give Repubs a fighting chance would be Chuck Hagel.

Repubs cannot win without a majority of the independents/undecideds and unaffiliated voters. That can only happen if the Repubs nominate a moderate.

I don't see Newt as a credible threat whether he throws his hat in the ring or not. Too many skeletons, too much past evil, ....

[TwilightGardener]

7. You know, Newt or Hagel might have a chance if there is no

clear frontrunner by the primaries and this ends up being a brokered convention--so far, no one seems to be leading the pack, and there are stark regional preferences going on: Mitt's doing well in IA and NH, but poorly in national polls. Rudy--probably won't fly in the South, losing Iowa. Thompson--OK in the South, but may not have appeal beyond that, and is looking weaker by the day. McCain--might still take NH, but will lose in SC, and then it falls apart from there. Will be interesting to see how this shapes up--it doesn't seem that any one candidate is strong enough to sweep the R race, at least right now.

[New Era]

6. Colin Powell will be running as

an independent's VP. In fact this guys - www.voteforbrad.com unless something else changes. It should be announced around December or January. I can only hope this will splinter the repug vote.

[TwilightGardener]

11. He's 70--he's a little long in the tooth, and too discredited and distrusted

right now, to really belong on a ticket. He's widely seen as kind of "blowing" the Sec of State gig by both parties--not really a good audition for VP, even for an Indie. On what authority do you make this claim?

[New Era]

13. I make the claim because...

That guy is my college professor. I had an extensive talk with him about the subject and have no reason to believe he is bullshitting me. His campaign is registered with the FEC and everything else checks out. I'm not saying I will vote for him or the Powell is a good candidate, but simply that I know repugs that still give this man a whole lot of credit. I would never purposely mislead anyone at DU; I love this place too much ( reader more than poster ) but I thought that this information may be useful to those of you out there.

[WilliamPitt]

8. Not true

Used to be true, but the Super-primary on Feb. 5th changes the math. The big-delegate northern and coastal primary states happen with a lot of the base states, and will overwhelm their influence.

Rudy Giuliani can save America. Seriously.

1. A gun-grabbing abortionist northeastern Yankee getting the GOP nod would make him the first GOP nominee since Ford to not be a prisoner or avatar of the base. Breaking that base's stranglehold on the GOP, and American politics as a whole, would be a huge leap forward.

2. Get his ass beat in the general.

[Blackhatjack]

9. I agree if Giuliani were to get the Repub Nom, He would Lose the Gen Election

However as Karl Rove knows, for Repubs to win they have to hold their lines and add voting blocks to create a majority coalition. The RWingers are usually reliable voters who show up to vote rain or shine --but I do not see them voting for anyone who does not agree with them on their core issue: abortion.

I am more afraid of the moderate Repub than the present crop of candidates.

[Augdog20]

10. IAFF is non-partisan / Don't let Rudy's 9/11 negligence slide

Don't forget the "Urban Legend" video on Giuliani, the NY firefighters and 9/11.
Don't let the Sean Hannitys bully you from keeping Rudy Giuliani's 9/11 neglectful leadership slide.

The charge that the IAFF (firefighter union behind the Urban Legend video) is partisan go unchallenged.

Here's proof that they are NON-partisan: (from wikipedia):

While the IAFF endorsed John F. Kerry for president in 2004, it has endorsed several Republicans. It endorsed the successful gubernatorial candidacies of Charlie Crist (Florida) and Jim Douglas (Vermont), and it endorsed several Republican candidates for the U.S. House and Senate. Examples of the IAFF's endorsement of Republican incumbents in 2006 include Representatives Curt Weldon (Pennsylvania) and John Sweeney (New York).