Lets start with the polls, not perfect, they are often off but the can be used as a guide of what could be expected.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released on the eve of critical Super Tuesday presidential primaries and caucuses shows that Hillary Clinton has lost the lead she had over Barack Obama, saying they are virtually tied and that John McCain holds a comfortable lead on the GOP side of things.
The Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll also shows Obama and Clinton running "neck and neck", with Obama taking a slight lead, but on the GOP side they say "McCain’s leads are commanding, except for in California where Romney leads in Southern California and among women, investors, and voters over 50."
“McCain will do well because of his big leads in the other states and because of winner-take-all states. But Romney may at least have a strong showing in California. In Missouri, Huckabee is in second place by virtue of strong support with conservative and (especially) very conservative voters.
The New York Times has a piece is very interesting reading.
We saw last week that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California, came out in support of John McCain and yet his wife, Maria Shriver, a Kennedy family member, has offered her support to Barack Obama.
The Times piece also highlights the family devisions within the Democratic supporters:
With Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mr. Obama locked in a tight race before Tuesday’s voting, the campaign has turned into a gigantic family feud, with prominent and everyday Democrats splitting with spouses, siblings, parents and children. There is former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin (Clinton supporter) and his son James (Obama); Representative Charles B. Rangel (Clinton), his wife, Alma (Obama); the Rev. Jesse Jackson (Obama), his wife, Jacqueline (Clinton), and their sons (split).
Loretta and Linda Sanchez, the only sisters in the House of Representatives, have endorsed Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, respectively. And Penny Pritzker, a Chicago philanthropist, serves as Mr. Obama’s national finance chairman even as her brother, Jay Robert, holds fund-raisers across town for Mrs. Clinton.
That article is good indicator of the battles being fought around the country in the Democratic race.
The Caucus tells us that with Bill Clinton's recent negativity and below the belt shots at Obama, "fewer voters these days like the idea of the former president being back in the White House."
Forty one percent of registered voters told the latest Pew Research Center survey that they disliked the idea of Mr. Clinton back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which could happen if his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, is elected president. In October, 34 percent of voters disliked the idea.
The latest survey was conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 2, after a couple of weeks of heightened media attention to Mr. Clinton’s increasingly dominant and visible role in his wife’s campaign. Pew surveyed 1,502 adults and the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The poll found that independent voters have become more uncomfortable with the idea. In October, just 35 percent of independents disliked the idea; now, 45 percent dislike it.
I saved this next bit for last for a reason... Joseph Lieberman tells the New York Post why he is crossing the party line to endorse and back John McCain for the Presidential nomination.
Terrorism is the preferred weapon of these Islamist extremists, but it is not their ultimate aim. Their vision is far more ambitious and threatening: a vision of conquest in which huge swaths of the world fall under their vicious and repressive rule.
The Islamist extremists are plotting attacks against us and our allies every day - from the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan, from London and Madrid to Jerusalem and Islamabad - and, if given the chance, right here at home in America.
From the moment the next president steps into the Oval Office, he or she will face life-and-death decisions in this war. That is why we need a president who is going to be ready to be commander-in-chief from day one - a president who won't need on-the-job training.
And that is why I have decided to cross party lines to endorse Sen. John McCain for president.
I know that it is unusual for someone like me - an Independent Democrat - to support a Republican candidate for president. But the dangers we face as a nation are too profound, and the challenges we face too real, for us to let partisan politics decide who we will support.
The reason I saved that for last is to make a point that I have been making for the last couple of weeks.
Priorities. PRIORITIES.
Joseph Lieberman, a man that caucuses with the Democrats on almost every single liberal issue, is able to prioritize and make the decision that the Democratic agenda is not as important as our National Security.
The reason this point is critical is because of some of the discussion I have been watching and participating in, via conservative group emails, comment sections here and at their blogs or forums and in the national media.
For example-- Ann Coulter very childishly announced that if John McCain was nominated for presidency, she would support Hillary Clinton, a woman that would surrender Iraq to al-Qaeda, allow every Iraqi that helped rout al-Qaeda from Iraq to be slaughtered for helping American troops, ripping the rug from under our troops as they are seeing amazing progress, making us weak in the eyes of the world, etc...., all because she cannot act like a grownup and accept the fact that John McCain may...MAY... win the GOP nomination.
I am seeing this type of behavior from many conservatives and although I understand their concerns, it comes down to priorities and it is up to each individual to decide what their priorities are.
I also understand fighting to support your candidate, I fought hard for Fred Thompson, but it didn't work out, but I will not sit out the 2008 election in a fit of temper because MY candidate didn't make it, or that is helping to hand the White House to either Hillary or Obama.
When the fight is over and the nomination is awarded to one of the GOP candidates, you can bet your last dollar that I will support, fight, donate and blog to help the GOP take the election because the alternative is unacceptable.
Fred Barnes tells Conservatives to "Grow Up" and although I do not agree with some of his wording, his point is the same, we need to decide what our priorities are... Joseph Lieberman, a liberal, an Independent that caucuses with the Democrats on every thing but the war on terror, understands and is standing by HIS priorities.... can we all do the same or are we, as a party, going to hand the White House to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama if our candidate of choice is not chosen?
Notice I am nt pitching John McCain, Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee, I am asking that once the nominee has been chosen, we all take step back, breathe deeply and ask ourselves if we are going to hand the White House to someone that will turn tail and run from our enemies or are we going to back someone that will fight and protect us as a country?
William Kristol puts it perfectly:
When the primaries are over, if McCain has won the day, don’t sulk and don’t sit it out. Don’t pretend there’s no difference between a candidate who’s committed to winning in Iraq and a Democratic nominee who embraces defeat. Don’t tell us that it doesn’t matter if the next president voted to confirm John Roberts and Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court, or opposed them. Don’t close your eyes to the difference between pro-life and pro-choice, or between resistance to big government and the embrace of it.
And don’t treat 2008 as a throwaway election. If a Democrat wins the presidency, he or she will almost certainly have a Democratic Congress to work with. That Congress will not impede a course of dishonorable retreat abroad. It won’t balk at liberal Supreme Court nominees at home. It won’t save the economy from tax hikes.
If, by contrast, McCain wins the presidency — and all the polls suggest he’d be the best G.O.P. bet to do so — he’ll be able to shape a strong American foreign policy, nominate sound justices and fight for parts of the conservative domestic agenda.
One might add a special reason that conservatives — and the nation — owe John McCain at least a respectful hearing. Only a year ago, we were headed toward defeat in Iraq. Without McCain’s public advocacy and private lobbying, President Bush might not have reversed strategy and announced the surge of troops in January 2007. Without McCain’s vigorous leadership, support for the surge in Congress would not have been sustained in the first few months of 2007. So: No McCain, no surge. No surge, failure in Iraq, a terrible setback for America — and, as it happens, no chance for a G.O.P. victory in 2008.
Some conservatives can close their eyes to all this. They can choose to stand aside from history while having a temper tantrum. But they should consider that the American people might then choose not to invite them back into a position of responsibility for quite a while to come.
Priorities.... what are yours and are they more or less important than the War on Terror, Islamic extremists, Jihadists, finishing our fight in Iraq and National Security?
Your answer to that one question will be your answer on whether to support the GOP candidate, no matter who it turns out to be, or handing the White House to the Democrats.
Cross Posted at Miss Beth's Victory Dance.
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