Are McCain, Obama cutting the herd?

Should Obama win today in N.H., I think it means Hillary is on life support waiting for the plug to be pulled.

It seems like a straightforward situation in the Democratic Party. Since Obama stands for virtually everything Hillary does, I do not think it will be hard to get that support.

In Northern Monmouth, I have noted a lot of "Hillary hatred" even among Democrats. I don't really get it, but there seems to be an "anti-Hillary bloc" she'll need to overcome.

The Republican race is a lot more enigmatic where it involves New Hampshire. Locally, Romney supporters from Middletown have gone so far as to travel to New Hampshire to conduct GOTV for the ailing campaign. There is a lot of energy around Romney at the upper levels of the county GOP, but the grassroots still seems to belong to Giuliani.

Should Romney limp out of New Hampshire with a loss, the expectation is that he will do well in Michigan. But, it just sounds like Romney's strategy is getting thinner and thinner.

If McCain does win in New Hampshire, then he has another life, and Huckabee's mission will be to finish relatively high and begin to significantly pick up whatever support he hasn't received yet from the Religious Right.

Giuliani's strategy is strange: Lots of energy in Florida, not so much in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Does he mean to bypass Michigan too? Can he afford it?

And what about Bloomberg?

Interesting stuff. Click on the headline and go to the AP story.

OBAMA, HUCKABEE WIN IN IOWA!

Well, the wheels are in motion for Decision '08. According to the AP, Rev. Mike Huckabee has garnered an Iowa win for the GOP, while Sen. Barak Obama has won the Democratic vote for that state.

While GOP favorite Rudy Giuliani did not work all that hard in Iowa, and is making his fight in the road ahead, I can't help but believe this is a significant setback for the Romney campaign. Romney put forth a significant effort there.

Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did seem to lose this one outright to Obama, though I am sure this is only the first round of several to come.

Questions: How is Rudy's campaign going to look in the wake of the Huckabee win? Is this a speed bump for Hillary or the beginning of a back-and-forth fight across the U.S.?

Click on the headline to go to the AP story.

Mike Huckabee's Christmas message

Ex-Arkansas Gov. and GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's Christmas message.

Novak pens good column about Huckabee in NY Post

Robert Novak from the NY Post has a great piece today about "Baptists Split Over Huck," referring to ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee is an ordained Baptist minister and many relious-minded people, including Judge Paul Pressler, have some issues with Huckabee.

Huckabee's "base" is going to be those who are involved with religion, and since he is a Baptist it is inevitable that those of Baptist faith (among others) are going to need to be supportive of him in order for him to do well on the Campaign Trail. The feeling from at least some mainstream Christians is that faith is thrown around too freely by politicians, many of whom use religion as a punchline rather than as a true statement of belief.

While I do not agree with many, or maybe even any, of Rev. Hackabee's political or policy choices, I do not believe (based on what I have read or seen about him thus far) that he is using religion in the same old way as many of his political brethren. I do feel he is being honest and forthright about his religious beliefs, which he freely admits colors his proposed policies.

Whether or not someone agrees or disagrees with Rev. Huckabees policies, I do not think he should be docked too heavily for at least being honest about how he came up with them.

Click on the headline to go to Mr. Novak's column, which is usually excellent and worth reading.

Mike Huckabee and where he stands

I disagree with Mike Huckabee on nearly every issue he has going. But I will say is that he lays out what is on his mind pretty well. In addition, his actual faith seems sincere, and his record of serving that faith is also present and clear. In many ways, this is refreshing. This is a long YouTube, but if a Republican is interested in finding out more about Gov. Huckabee, it's a good one.