Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Republicans avoid LePore-style footshooting.

At least the Republicans have kept their honor in avoiding the "punish Florida now" movement that currently owns the Democrat party's national bigshots.


GOP candidates talk tough
John Kennedy and Jim Stratton
Sentinel Staff Writers
October 22, 2007
Orlando Sentinel

Republican presidential contenders battled in a nationally televised debate Sunday night...

"We're not going to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House by acting like Hillary Clinton," said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Romney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain took the toughest shots -- at Clinton and one another -- as they sought to surge ahead in a crowded Republican field...

Also taking part in the debate were former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Reps. Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado...

The 90 minutes of verbal fencing did little to help Chris Hart make up his mind.

Hart, a former Hillsborough County commissioner, said he went into the debate favoring Giuliani and Romney. Both, he said, performed well, but neither did enough to push him off the fence...

...the primary path for Florida Democrats has proved rocky. Leading Democratic presidential candidates are boycotting next weekend's party convention because the Jan. 29 primary date violates a party rule allowing only the four early states to hold contests before Feb. 5.

With Republicans facing no such prohibition, McCain, Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson all spent the weekend courting Florida Republican activists at the Orlando convention.

Thompson also will launch a two-day bus trip across Central and South Florida today -- his second barnstorming tour in a month.

It's good to see that not every politician is as arrogant as Howard Dean and his footshootists.