Granite State Quickie: A State of Denial? The Granite Status Finally Breaks Something We Love & What About Fred 2
A State Of Denial?
We can't help asking if New Hampshire's political class is just a bit too nonchalant about its ability to protect New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary status after the '08 election.
Noted: We said after the '08 election. New Hampshire will still play a key role in this election. The only people who disagree with that assumption are Rudy's campaign consultants (rodeo clowns).
This past Monday we listened as Governor Lynch, Gary Hart, Andy Card and Pat Buchanan all praised New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner's ability to protect New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation status.
And, no question, Gardner (New Hampshire's Yoda) is deserving of the praise. His political ability, routinely displayed in the service of New Hampshire's interests, are legendary.
His clout is such that the staff of several presidential campaigns were in attendance at the dinner - at $150 bucks a ticket.
Hey, why wouldn't you want to pay big money to see a man who has successfully battled Michigan Senator Carl Levin to a standstill for the last 200 years?
But Levin, for the first time, has the upper-hand.
Levin's advantage (checkmate?) is the Nevada Caucus, which for the first time is scheduled to go after the Iowa Caucus but before the New Hampshire Primary.
The new Nevada Caucus has SPLIT the decades old alliance between New Hampshire and Iowa (exactly as Levin and the DNC intended).
The Iowa-New Hampshire bond was the rock where Gardner built his church. That rock is now gone. Just as the presidential primary landscape is dramatically shifting.
And while Gardner is still talking about respecting Iowa's traditions, that's all it is, talk.
Yoda has his work cut out for him.
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The Granite Status Column Finally Breaks Something That We Love.
From today's column:
John McCain's national field director, former Granite Stater Michael Dennehy, says he has moved his former business associate, Sarah Crawford, from the campaign post of New England deputy political director to deputy campaign manager in New Hampshire.----------
"We need another seasoned hand to organize our political operations and volunteer efforts in New Hampshire," Dennehy said, "and Sarah knows the terrain, the people and the players better than anyone else on the ground."
What About Fred 2?
It's Day 2 of the hype surrounding the speculation surrounding the spin surrounding the gossip surrounding the chatter surrounding the noise surrounding the possibility that former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson might be thinking about considering a run for President.
Today's idle chatter made the front page of the Washington Post, which leads us to ask if that Washington institution is suffering from a lack of self-respect?
Our favorite quote in the story is from former U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander who, having found that the quote "Thompson is for lower taxes, creating jobs and national security" was used already, came up with something on the fly:
"He (Thompson) has a commanding television presence that makes every other politician in America jealous."How Presidential!
Paging Robert Caro.
