Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

Captain’s Quarters: McCain Launches His Own Resolution

John McCain has decided to eschew the competing resolutions expressing disfavor with the new White House surge strategy in favor of an open-ended series of benchmarks intended to demonstrate what progress in Iraq will look like. The resolution gives no deadlines but does describe the process by which the Pentagon should measure success.

Will McCain’s resolution be able to persuade enough Republicans to filibuster the Warner-Levin resolution?

Looks promising.

Are the GOP Senators finally getting a backbone?

Stay tuned…….

Previous:

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part VIII

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part VII

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part VI

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: GOP Senators Debate 5 Different Iraq War Resolutions

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part V

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part IV

John McCain Watch: DNC Criticizes McCain Contradictions on Iraq War

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part III

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge Part II

Iraq War Senate Resolution Watch: Take the Pledge

The Michael Ramirez files

---

Technorati Tags: MichaelRamirez, IraqWar, JohnWarner, MitchMcConnell

The Gallup Poll: Giuliani, McCain Have Competing Strengths in Republicans’ Eyes

McCain’s strengths lie in foreign policy, ethics, and moral values; Giuliani’s on domestic issues and leadership

A recent Gallup Panel poll shows Rudy Giuliani and John McCain the clear frontrunners among the Republican Party’s 2008 presidential hopefuls. In the most recent test of rank-and-file Republicans’ presidential nomination preferences, 31% said they would be most likely to support Giuliani and 27% said McCain. When asked to choose between the two, however, Republicans show a slight preference for Giuliani at 50% to 42%, respectively.

The latest poll sought to explore Republicans’ views of Giuliani and McCain in more depth, asking them to choose which candidate better exemplified certain personality or political characteristics as well as say who would be better able to handle specific issues.

Candidates on the Issues Poll:

The poll also asked Republicans to indicate which of the two potential candidates would do the better job on a series of 10 issues.

Giuliani has an advantage on six of the issues tested and McCain has an advantage on four. Giuliani’s strengths are primarily in the area of domestic issues while McCain leads on most international matters.

The Summary:

Giuliani’s biggest advantage is on crime, for which 78% of Republicans view him as better compared with 17% who say McCain is. Giuliani, a federal prosecutor prior to being elected mayor of New York City, made crime prevention a focus during his administration and crime rates in the city did fall during his tenure.

Giuliani is also viewed as better than McCain on the economy (52% to 38%), education (48% to 38%), healthcare (47% to 39%), and taxes (49% to 37%). The candidates are rated about equally on the environment and energy with 44% saying McCain would do a better job and 43% Giuliani.

McCain, who has long supported an increased U.S. military presence in Iraq, is viewed by Republicans as better to handle the situation in Iraq by a 53% to 40% margin over Giuliani. (Giuliani has supported recent calls for a troop increase in Iraq.) Republicans also give McCain a 54% to 37% edge on handling “relations with other countries.”

One international issue in Giuliani’s favor is terrorism, on which he has a 53% to 41% edge over McCain. Giuliani’s widely praised response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks while serving as mayor of New York City is the likely reason for this — and is enough to overcome the perhaps more general sense that McCain is better on international matters.

McCain’s biggest issue advantage is not on an international issue, but on moral values. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans believe he would do the better job on this issue while 30% believe Giuliani would. Giuliani’s past positions in favor of abortion and gay rights are generally out of step with the views of most rank-and-file Republicans while McCain’s positions have generally been in keeping with the Republican platform.

Republicans’ relative ratings of the candidates on the issues do not vary much by their religious commitment or self-described political ideology.

And what do the polls show us for the campaign ahead:

The poll provides insight into where the candidates stand among the party before campaigning kicks off in earnest — while both McCain and Giuliani have formed presidential candidate exploratory committees, neither has officially announced his candidacy. McCain would do well to emphasize his experience and foreign policy credentials while reminding Republican voters of his traditional views on moral values. Meanwhile, Giuliani apparently would be well-served to remind the voters of his leadership of New York following the Sept. 11 crisis and attempt to capitalize on his more favorable public image.

Flap can guarantee that each of these candidates will be running focus groups now and every week to fine tune their message.

Compare this initial poll with subsequent ones as the campaign heats up.

Each candidate has his pluses and minuses.  It is the emphasis of positive characteristics and issues, national/world events, and how the candidates are presented which will determine the next President of the United States.

Stay tuned……

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Gallup Poll Part I

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Giuliani LEADS in Latest Rasmussen GOP Poll

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Latest New Hampshire Survey USA Poll

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Los Angeles Times Hits Rudy’s “Prickly Style”

Giuliani Notes: Dollars for Rudy

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Who Has the Vision and Who Can Perform?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Scouting New Hampshire at Littleton Chamber of Commerce

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Bush Iraq Plan Should Be Given A Chance

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Paul Cellucci, Former Massachusetts Governor Endorses Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani Watch:Giuliani 30% Leads McCain 22% and Romney 10%

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Latest Time Magazine Poll Has McCain Leading Giuliani by 4 Points

Rudy Giuliani Watch: What Does a Mayor Know About Iraq?

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani

Previous:

The Michael Rimerez Files

---

Technorati Tags: MichaelRamirez,HillaryClinton

Cristyne L. Nicholas

The Politico: A Fundraiser From Rudy’s Past

Cristyne L. Nicholas will be hosting a campaign fundraiser for her former boss, Rudy Giuliani, according to sources familiar with the planned event.

Nicholas is the former Cristyne Lategano, familiar to readers of the New York tabloids (and avid viewers of the USA Network) as Rudy’s former communications director and the “former staffer” alleged by Giuliani’s ex-wife to have had an affair with the Mayor. (Giuliani and Nicolas always denied the allegation.)

More recently, she was the city’s top tourism official.

And, so a fundraising event by Cristyne Nicholas for her former boss (She was Giuliani’s Communications Director) is somehow notable or scandalous like the Politico makes it out to be?

Oh, you say because Rudy supposedly had an affair with her (which they both deny) and his ex-wife Donna Hanover mentioned her name in Rudy’s divorce pleadings.

And you believe an ex-wife – a woman scorned, why? Remember New York has AT FAULT divorce law.

But, let’s get it out there.

At least this campaign won’t be unexciting with the daily dish of sex and dirt dished out by the Tabloids and political gossip blogs.

Stay tuned…….

Donna Hanover accused her husband of having an earlier affair with former communications director Christyne Lategano. Hanover also announced a formal separation from Giuliani.

Previous:

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani

JoinRudy2008: The Tarrance Group Joins Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee Team

The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee announced today that Ed Goeas, Dave Sackett and Brian Tringali from The Tarrance Group, a prominent research and strategic consulting firm, are joining the committee as its pollsters.

Goeas and partners Sackett and Tringali currently also serve as pollster to five Republican Governors, ten U.S. Senators, and forty-two Republican Members of Congress.

“We’re thrilled The Tarrance Group has come on board and will lead our polling efforts. Ed Goeas, Dave Sackett and Brian Tringali are truly superior in their field, have stellar reputations and make an outstanding addition to our team,” said Brent Seaborn, Strategy Director to the Exploratory Committee.

Ed Goeas said, “Following an election where the question on many voters’ mind was ‘can Republicans govern,’ I am excited about working with a man that has such a strong record of conservative governance and leadership with results.”

Of the major criticisms of the EARLY Giuliani campaign was that a media consultant and pollster had not been hired. These were signs by some that Rudy Giuliani had NOT made up his mind to seek the presidency.

Well, the Pollster has been hired and a notable one at that – Bush/Cheney 2004.

Ed Goeas

Ed Goeas is President and CEO of The Tarrance Group. He is perhaps best known as the Republican pollster for the “Battleground Poll,” which, of the national public polls, has come the closest in three of the last four presidential elections in matching the actual election results. He has been widely published in professional and academic journals, including the Yale Law and Policy Review, on a variety of public policy issues based on his national research. In 1994, he was recognized by Democrat and Republican members of the American Association of Political Consultants as “Pollster of the Year.”

The Tarrance Groups website is here.

Their client list is here:

POLITICAL CLIENT LIST

US SENATORS

WAYNE ALLARD, CO
THAD COCHRAN, MS
LARRY CRAIG, ID
MIKE ENZI, WY
CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
TRENT LOTT, MS
CRAIG THOMAS, WY
GEORGE VOINOVICH, OH
JOHN WARNER, VA

GOVERNORS

HALEY BARBOUR, MS
ERNIE FLETCHER, KY
LINDA LINGLE, HI

CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES

CHARLES BRONSON, FL Ag. Commissioner
TOM CORBETT, PA Attorney General
MIKE EAKIN, PA Supreme Court
MARY TAYLOR, OH Auditor
TOM HORNE, AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction

POLITICAL COMMITTEES

BUSH-CHENEY 2004
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
FLORIDA HOUSE & SENATE REPUBLICAN CAUCUSES
REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF MARYLAND
MONROE COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE, NEW YORK
NEW JERSEY REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF OHIO
OHIO REPUBLICAN PARTY
REPUBLICAN CAUCUS OF VIRGINIA
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ALABAMA
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF WISCONSIN
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF NEW JERSEY
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF WYOMING
WISCONSIN STATE SENATE
COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

BRIAN BILBRAY, CA
MIKE BILIRAKIS, FL
JOHN BOEHNER, OH
GINNY BROWN-WAITE, FL
HOWARD COBLE, NC
BARBARA CUBIN, WY
JOHN CULBERSON, TX
GEOFF DAVIS, KY
CHARLIE DENT, PA
MARK FALLIN, OK
TOM FEENEY, FL
PHIL GINGREY, GA
DEAN HELLER, NV
GIL GUTKNECHT, MN
DAVE HOBSON, OH
STEVEN KING , IA
TOM LATHAM, IA
STEVE LATOURETTE, OH
FRANK LOBIONDO, NJ
JOHN McHUGH, NY
JOHN MICA, FL

CHARLIE NORWOOD, GA
DEVON NUNES, CA
JOHN PETERSON, PA
TOM PETRI, WI
CHIP PICKERING, MS
ADAM PUTNAM, FL
DEBORAH PRYCE, OH
GEORGE RADANOVICH, CA
JIM RAMSTAD, MN
TOM REYNOLDS, NY
HAL ROGERS, KY
JIM SAXTON, NJ
JEAN SCHMIDT, OH
BILL SHUSTER, PA
CHRIS SMITH, NJ
JOHN SULLIVAN, OK
ZACH WAMP, TN

Hummmm does anyone NOT think that Mayor Giuliani is running for President?

Stay tuned……

Previous:

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani

Fox News: FOX News Poll: Voters Most Comfortable With Rudy Giuliani as President

More voters say they would be comfortable with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as president than other top 2008 contenders, though majorities would also be comfortable with other leaders from both parties, according to the latest FOX News Poll.

Another great poll result for the Mayor.

Among self-identified Republicans, Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain continue to lead the pack: 34 percent support Giuliani and 22 percent McCain. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is unannounced but appears to be considering a run, captures the third slot with 15 percent.

Stay tuned……

Previous:

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani

The Gallup Poll: Giuliani, McCain Have Competing Strengths in Republicans’ Eyes

McCain’s strengths lie in foreign policy, ethics, and moral values; Giuliani’s on domestic issues and leadership

A recent Gallup Panel poll shows Rudy Giuliani and John McCain the clear frontrunners among the Republican Party’s 2008 presidential hopefuls. In the most recent test of rank-and-file Republicans’ presidential nomination preferences, 31% said they would be most likely to support Giuliani and 27% said McCain. When asked to choose between the two, however, Republicans show a slight preference for Giuliani at 50% to 42%, respectively.

The latest poll sought to explore Republicans’ views of Giuliani and McCain in more depth, asking them to choose which candidate better exemplified certain personality or political characteristics as well as say who would be better able to handle specific issues.

The Candidate Characteristic Poll:

The Jan. 25-28, 2007 poll asked Republicans and independents who say they lean to the Republican Party to rate Giuliani versus McCain on each of 15 specific issue characteristics [a similar analysis was done of Democratic candidates: see "Clinton Eclipses Obama and Edwards on Leadership" in the Related Items]. Of the 15 characteristics tested, Giuliani is viewed as having a clear advantage on 10 items. McCain “wins” on only three dimensions, and the two candidates are essentially tied on the remaining two.

The Poll Results:

The Gallup Poll: Giuliani, McCain Have Competing Strengths in Republicans’ Eyes

Character and Political Dimensions	Giuliani %	McCain %	Advantage
Is more likeable	74	21	G +53
Would be better in a crisis	68	28	G +40
Would do more to unite the country	65	28	G +37
Is the better public speaker	61	27	G +34
Better understands the problems faced by ordinary Americans	60	33	G +27
Is the stronger leader	59	34	G +25
Would perform better in the debates	56	37	G +19
Would manage the government more effectively	55	37	G 18
Has the better chance of beating the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential election	55	38	G +17
Would run the more positive campaign	50	38	G +12
Has the better chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination in 2008	47	46	G +1
Would be respected more by leaders of other countries	45	45	Tie
Is more qualified to be president	41	50	M +9
Would work better with Congress	41	52	M +11
Has higher ethical standards	35	50	M +15

The Summary:

Giuliani’s greatest strength vis a vis McCain comes on the following dimensions on which he has at least a 20-point lead over the Arizona Senator:

• Is more likable
• Would be better in a crisis
• Would do more to unite the country
• Is the better public speaker
• Better understands the problems faced by ordinary Americans
• Is the stronger leader

Giuliani does better than McCain, albeit with a slightly smaller lead, on the following:

• Would perform better in the debates
• Would manage the government more effectively
• Has the better chance of beating the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential election
• Would run the more positive campaign

The two candidates are essentially tied in terms of these characteristics:

• Has the better chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination in 2008
• Would be respected more by leaders of other countries

Republicans give McCain the advantage on these dimensions:

• Has higher ethical standards
• Would work better with Congress
• Is more qualified to be president

Overall, Rudy giuliani does extremely wellwell in this part of the poll.

Note the large lead in likeable and “most likely to unite the country.

McCain does well on the ethical standards characteristic.  But, have the voters been introduced to McCain’s own public problems with his divorces?

Probably not.

However, Team Rudy will probably NOT have to introduce these issues and if Team McCain goes negative – it won’t be on these issues less his own ethical lapses come to the forefront.

Of course, these ethical issues will be de minimis in a race against Hillary Clinton who suffers the “SCORNED WOMAN” and “CHEATED UPON” baggage from husband Bill.  And why she stayed with him because of her own POLITICAL AMBITION.

Stay tuned……

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Watch: New Jersey Quinnipac Poll Has Rudy Beating Hillary

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy a STAR in California

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Giuliani LEADS in Latest Rasmussen GOP Poll

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Latest New Hampshire Survey USA Poll

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Los Angeles Times Hits Rudy’s “Prickly Style”

Giuliani Notes: Dollars for Rudy

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Who Has the Vision and Who Can Perform?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Scouting New Hampshire at Littleton Chamber of Commerce

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Bush Iraq Plan Should Be Given A Chance

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Paul Cellucci, Former Massachusetts Governor Endorses Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani Watch:Giuliani 30% Leads McCain 22% and Romney 10%

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Latest Time Magazine Poll Has McCain Leading Giuliani by 4 Points

Rudy Giuliani Watch: What Does a Mayor Know About Iraq?

The Rudy Giuliani Files

---

Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani