Republican:
Giuliani - If he comes out ahead in Florida, he will be hailed as making brilliant use of his limited resources. Unfortunately for him, Newsmax describes a recent poll in which he trails McCain and Romney.
McCain - This is a chance for him to show how electable he is in a closed-primary state. Money is starting to flow to his campaign.
Huckabee - Expected to have increasing difficulty finding states where he can end up in the top three, a gentle way of saying he may be forced to quit soon.
Romney - Still very much in the game, and likely to inherit many Fred Thompson supporters.
Democrat:
Obama - Expected to dominate the South Carolina primary; Florida is his opportunity to demonstrate his appeal to whites and other ethnic minorities.
Clinton, H. - Lowered expectations in South Carolina, and concentrated her efforts on cultivating the western states and trying to hold on to her share of Florida voters.
Kucinich - Another one bites the dust.
UPDATE: It is frustrating, given the volatility of situation, to note that my prognostications were no more accurate than any other person's. I believed that Fred Thompson really had a chance in South Carolina, and while he (and Duncan Hunter) were saying the right things on the issues, they were unable to whip up enough enthusiasm - and raise enough funds - to keep up their pursuit of the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, some conservative pundits are saying that Hillary is yielding South Carolina to Barack Obama so that she can pin the label on him of being the "black candidate" with limited appeal to whites. At this point I don't think she can afford to be so cavalier about any state, since if nominated, she will have to go back there again to gather up as many votes as possible.
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