President Gerald R. Ford 1913-2006

Was sad to hear of the passing of a great statesman, former President Gerald Ford.
Had the opprtunity to meet him once, back in 1978 at the old Amana Open Golf tourney in Iowa City. He was the first president that I ever met, shook hands with him at the #10 tee box at Finkbine. Our current crop of politicians could learn a thing or two about civility from Ford.
God Bless him.

Romney in Iowa, Rudy explores, McCain $100 pin

Tonight is Gov. Mitt Romney's Christmas Party for his supporters in Iowa. Event is being held from 6 to 8PM at the Hilton Garden Inn in W. Des Moines. Invites for the private event were emailed on 12/9. Check out www.iowansforromney.com and http://iowansforromney.blogspot.com.

Sen. McCain's Exploratory Committee sent an email to supporters on Dec. 13th to "be there from the beginning" and pony up $100 for a "official John McCain Exploratory Committee lapel pin to identify yourself as a key McCain supporter." Check out www.exploremccain.com

America's "Mr. Mayor" Rudy Guiliani has taken a step closer to a White House run by posting his own website. Check out www.JoinRudy2008.com made its debut this week.

Bayh out, Romney In

Indiana's Evan Bayh became the latest victim of the "Hillary coronation", pulling the plug on his 2008 lib party prez bid. Gov. Romney will be making his presidential bid official with a January 8th announcement. Mitt will also be sponsoring a Christmas party in Des Moines next week for his Iowa supporters.

14 months to Iowa Caucus

The GOP took some severe losses in the mid-term elections. I predicted the House would go, but incorrectly said they would hold the Senate. George Allen's razor thin loss to Webb was the difference.

I predict that Leon Mosely will be the next Iowa GOP chairman from a source.."in the know."

I'm still not convinced that Rudy Guiliani is running for the oval office.
He did announce a exploratory committee today, but when push comes to shove I do not believe he will enter the race. I see Gov. Vilsack was the first announced candidate & that Sen. McCain will announce his exploratory commitee next week. I believe that Romney is going to win the Iowa Caucus come Jan. of 2008, with McCain a close second. Edwards & Hillary will battle it out for the liberals.

Mid-term election predictions & political potpourri

Since I have already cast my absentee ballot, its time to divulge my predictions. First off I was hoping that the GOP would either win the governorship in Iowa, or at least retain Nussle's old seat (1st congressional district). I hope I'm wrong but I feel the Dems will win both of these elections. Culver will win the gubernatorial by a 53-47% margin while Braley will defeat Whalen 54-46%. Sen. Geo Allen will win in Virginia over Jim Webb by a 55-45% margin. In my upset special Michael Steele will be elected US Senator from Maryland in a 50.5% to 49.5% squeeker. GOP will retain the Senate but lose the House as the libs pick up 18 seats. Several of the 2008 presidential candidiates will announce formation of their respective "presidential exploratory committes" in the months of January and February 2007. You should know all of the players by the end of April. I predict that Rudy Guiliani will NOT seek the GOP nomination. I've said all along that I won't believe that he's running until he has staff on the ground in the Hawkeye state. Also I predict that Sen. Allen will not seek the nomination either. On the dems side, Edwards is off to a good start as he has been to Iowa repeatedly. Warner's candidacy was the first casualty of '08, looks like O'Bama will likely run. Can any of them stop Hillary's "coronation"??? GOP is a two man race, McCain vs. the McCain alternative, which appears more and more to be Mitt Romney.

Iowa Straw Poll - one year to go: lessons from 1999

We're about one year away from the 2007 Ames "Iowa Straw Poll". The Iowa Straw Poll is a milestone, a watershed moment for potential GOP presidential candidates in Iowa. It seperates the "wheat from the chaff". It doesn't necessarily annoint a winner for the following January's (1/14/08) Iowa caucus,...but it is an "elimination round." In 1999 GWB had a show of force. Lamar Alexander was the first casualty as he pulled out of the race two days after the Straw Poll. The Quayle & Dole campaigns were on life support after this event. GWB won the Straw Poll with 30% and Steve Forbes came in second with 20%. About 24,000 Iowans voted on a muggy August afternoon in Ames. My wife & I "captained" the 3 busloads of GWB supporters from Waterloo and helped coordinate another 3 busloads from Cedar Falls.
In 2007 it will eliminate a few of the second division candidates and will pose a spending frenzy among the candidates. The 2008 race is already on, with potential candidates currently making visits to the Hawkeye State to help raise funds for 2006 Iowa Republican candidates. After the first of the year the presidential "exploratory committee" announcements will begin. By the end of March 2007 we should know who the players for 2008 are. The race is on...

Romney draws warm response from Iowa GOP

MA. Gov. Mitt Romney gave a speeech promoting America's values to an enthuisiatic audience at the Iowa Republican Party's "Chairman's Dinner" held in Cedar Rapids on July 29th. Over 200 attendees paid $50 each to hear the potential 2008 candidate. Rep. Jim Leach was also on the program. Leach spoke glowingly of Romney and encouraged activists to "seriously consider" Romney. Several activists were spotted wearing "Iowans For Romney" campaign buttons.