Wednesday, October 03, 2007

JOHN MCCAIN, RUDY GIULIANI, MIKE HUCKABEE, FRED THOMPSON, MITT ROMNEY

Reading the Cloudy Tea Leaves on the New Hampshire Union Leader's Endorsement

So one of my guys in the Granite State noted two nice editorials about John McCain in the New Hampshire Union Leader up there, and remembered their op-ed about “the comeback” . He said he’s seen critical house editorials from the paper on Giuliani (for taking the cell phone call) on Romney (on his pro-life credentials) and Thompson (for missing that New Hampshire debate). He wonders if that means the newspaper's potential endorsement choices have narrowed to McCain and Huckabee.

I ran his theory by Andrew Cline, the newspaper's editorial page editor, who is tight-lipped enough to work at CTU (and not as one of the moles) when it comes to editorial board secrets. Nonetheless, Cline shared:

Oh, the tea leaves game again. I love this game. We've run only the one editorial on Huckabee, saying he's a sharp guy and although we have problems with his tax record voters should check him out. But we have been critical of McCain going back a long time. Most recently on July 1 and May 5… In September of last year we whacked McCain two days in a row for his position on interrogation techniques.

Hope that clouds the tea cup some.

Only July 1, the editors of the NHUL wrote:

If you want to know why so many pro-lifers refuse to endorse Sen. John McCain for President despite McCain’s solid pro-life record, look no further than last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life…

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” stated the First Amendment until John McCain got hold of it.

On March 5, the NHUL wrote:

AS SEN. John McCain tries to convince Republicans that he's the conservative candidate for President in 2008, he has an enormous obstacle to overcome. He still does not believe in the First Amendment.

McCain’s patently unconstitutional campaign finance law, which restricted the free speech rights of Americans and aided incumbent members of Congress, is far enough in the past that he could disavow it and claim to see the error of his ways. But he still believes in limiting political expression…

McCain is for small government except when he isn't. And on the most important civic activity in a republic — choosing who governs us – he shows again that he is for big government dictates and against personal freedom.

I would note that the Union Leader’s endorsement is… not necessarily a perfect predictor of the winner of the presidency, the Republican nomination, or even the winner of New Hampshire. They endorsed Steve Forbes in 2000, Pat Buchanan in 1996 and 1992, and Pete duPont in 1988. They did like Reagan in 1980, though.

10/03 04:30 PMShare